Sticks and Stones
by Celestial Chaos
Summary: What should be a romantic night at winter formal turns into a nightmare for Rocky DeSantos and Adam Park. How will they deal with the long-lasting, debilitating consequences of an unexpected attack from the Machine Empire? Slash. Sequel to "Switch-Hit".
1. Return of the Boys

**Author's Notes: Hi everyone! If you've found this story by chance, then welcome! This is actually a sequel to another MMPR Rocky/Adam piece I wrote called "Switch Hit". Now, for the most part, this piece could stand alone. However, there a few references here and there about what happened in the previous story. If you're an MMPR slash fan I would check it out :) **

**This story takes place during the Zeo timeline, right around episode 4 or so. It could**** be considered AU after a certain point, but since all the MMPR episodes are basically standalones (with the exception of a few), it could really happen any point after then. **

**For my readers from Switch-Hit, hi! Welcome to the new tale! This one will be much longer than the previous story; in fact, it is significantly longer than I thought it would be. But that's always a great thing, right? We like more Rocky/Adam. **

**This chapter's just a lot of fun humor and fluff. I love that kind of stuff every now and again ;) **

**This story is going to be all over the board for genres. The description says all! Please enjoy the ride!**

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><p>Adam was trying very hard to keep a straight face.<p>

However, it was incredibly difficult when Rocky was holding on to a fake, electronic baby. Just the sight of him looking so confused and unsure—it was begging for a smile, a laugh. Anything.

And yet, he kept his composure.

Until Rocky let out a whine.

"Adam, it's not funny," he said quickly.

Holding his stomach with his arms, Adam laughed, until he saw the frustration on Rocky's face. He stood up straight, cleared his throat and shook out the sillies.

"What are you so worried about?" the dark haired one asked. "You have a younger brother and two younger sisters. You should know how to take care of a baby by now, right?"

Rocky shifted. "You're lucky you're not in our class, otherwise you'd have one of these to take care of, too."

"So, who's your partner?"

"Tanya. At least I got someone level-headed."

Adam's hold over himself began to crack. The corners of his mouth pulled into a restrained smile.

"So, how long are you gonna be a dad?"

"For the rest of the week."

"Am I gonna be the step-dad? You know, since we're actually together?"

Rocky furrowed his brow. "If you're not careful, _yes_. I'll make you watch this thing with me until you're blue in the face, too." He shook his head. "I've only had it for a few hours and I've already managed to make it cry nonstop for twenty minutes straight. I realized it needed to be changed, but since then, it hasn't made a noise. I hope I didn't turn it off by accident. I'm being graded on this…"

Adam moved closer to his boyfriend, taking the baby from his arms. He was surprised just how much it looked and felt like a real child. Suddenly he had a very real fear that it would begin crying in his grasp.

Adam didn't do babies. They were way too much work.

"So are you and Tanya taking turns? You know, taking care of the baby?"

"I have him tonight. She's taking him tomorrow. _And_," Rocky grinned deviously, "I managed to convince my mom to watch him on Friday night."

"What's Friday—_oh_."

Adam sighed. This was the umpteenth time since they'd found out about the winter formal over a month ago that Rocky had brought it up. Though each time Adam turned him down, Rocky seemed to get right back up again. In truth, Adam knew the very real reason he was hesitating was because he didn't want to go public with their relationship. He would feel weird knowing that _everyone_'_s_ eyes were on them. Having never been a very open person to begin with, it seemed like a lot of extra, unwelcomed energy and focus. For someone like Rocky, however, who was sociable, personable and energetic, it was likely just another step in the process of their relationship.

"Come on, Adam," Rocky urged, moving in close. He nearly touched Adam but stopped himself—they were in the halls of Angel Grove High, and their classmates surrounded them. "It's been a long time. We're doing great. We deserve to be happy, too, and share that with people. I want to take you to the dance and I want to have _fun_. Don't you?"

The Green Ranger said nothing at first. He stared down at the baby in his arms—why was he still holding it, anyway?—and then returned his gaze to Rocky. If he took the time to think about it, a simple gesture such as saying yes would probably elate the other ranger for months on end. Not to mention, he would get major brownie points.

He could even hear his mother now: _You only get a few chances for a high school dance, take them!_

"I guess," Adam conceded, carefully.

Rocky paused. He tilted his head to the side. "Wait. Was that a yes?"

"You sure you're ready for everything that's gonna come with it?"

"Of course! Aren't you?"

Rocky's complete lack of hesitation was enough make Adam snort. He typically was the thoughtful one, the careful one, whereas Rocky was the total opposite. It wasn't surprising to hear him say that with complete and utter conviction. It lay on Adam to go along or not.

As he handed the baby back to Rocky, he said quietly, "All right, let's go."

In truth, deep down inside, he was somewhat excited at the prospect of going to the winter formal with Rocky. Adam had always been rather shy and had difficulty opening up. What he needed was something to bring him out of his comfort zone. There would be no better time than the dance.

Still, he was nervous. Rumors would spread, people would talk, and ultimately, their secret would no longer be just that—a secret.

Despite all that, the look of sheer, unadulterated happiness in his boyfriend's expression helped assuage the concern.

"It's gonna be a blast," Rocky said cheerfully. "You're gonna love it, Adam, promise!"

. . . . .

Adam wondered if Rocky knew just how difficult it was to rent a tuxedo.

Why was formal wear always a requirement? He hated the way tuxedos looked and felt—they were far too ceremonial, and they reminded him of weddings, something he was far from ready to consider. Not to mention, they always made him look so _shapeless_.

His mother, of course, was overjoyed that he'd decided to go to the formal. Her barrage of questions barely cracked the surface of Adam's special event, as he had no intention of telling her who he was going with or why truthfully he was even going in the first place. He'd told her it was a group thing,

Despite his mother's vehement proposals to drive him—she was trying to get a glimpse of his date, he was sure of it—Adam decided that evening to walk the few blocks to Rocky's house and get dressed there.

When he arrived at the DeSantos residence, he was greeted by Rocky's father.

"Adam! So, you're going to the dance too, huh? Who are the lucky girls our boys are escorting?"

Adam smiled politely as he stepped inside the busy home. He waited to speak while Rocky's two younger sisters ran through the living room and down the stairs to their bedroom.

"Oh, we're not taking any girls, Mr. DeSantos. Just a group thing with our friends."

"Ah, well…you sure? I guess that's what happens when it's last minute. I'm sure you boys will have fun, anyway. Rocky's downstairs getting ready. Feel free to head down there, yourself."

"Thanks, Mr. DeSantos!"

Suit in hand, Adam headed downstairs to Rocky's room. He heard his sisters laughing and squealing in their room, and as he passed, he offered them a wave in greeting.

At the very end of the hallway, the door to Rocky's room was cracked just slightly. Through the sliver Adam glimpsed the back of Rocky's figure, clad only in a white tank-top and a pair of blue boxer briefs. With a wicked grin the Green Ranger slinked into the room, shutting and locking the door behind him. He placed his tuxedo on the hook that hung upon the back.

With the other's attention focused upon mostly upon himself and his outfit, Adam had no trouble sneaking up behind him. He put his hands over Rocky's eyes and said, "Hands up where I can see 'em!"

Rocky let out an obviously fake surprised gasp as he held up his hands, which in turn made Adam smirk. He brought himself closer to his boyfriend's body, pressing his groin against the other's backside.

"Shouldn't you be dressed already?" he asked, mouth very close to Rocky's ear.

The other shivered. "I was about to put on my shirt when some stranger came into my room…not sure who he is, but he sure has a nice voice."

Rocky pressed himself back against his lover, reaching up to slowly remove the hands from over his eyes. Adam tensed in anticipation as those hands guided his own over Rocky's fit, firm chest and down his stomach. He stopped just shy of his groin, slowly moving the hands back up toward his face so that he could give each of them a kiss.

He looked at Adam's reflection in the mirror. "You excited?"

Adam's face contorted into a mildly worried expression. "Excited as I can be. I just can't help but—"

"No, no," Rocky began. "Positive thoughts only from here on out, remember? No worrying."

Adam smiled. Rocky was always so positive, so upbeat. It was hard not to think or feel the same way when he was around.

After giving the other a kiss on the neck, Adam pulled back and went to grab his tuxedo. He hadn't yet seen Rocky's, nor had Rocky seen his, but he knew the two would likely complement one another. After all, black was the standard fare, and for the cummerbund, they were sure to choose their ranger colors, as they did with the majority of their outfits.

Sure enough, when Adam saw Rocky pull his out to compare, they had done just that. The two boys shared a laugh.

"We're gonna look so snazzy," Adam said. He began to remove his clothes, easing them onto the bed so as to not wrinkle them.

Both rangers changed in relative silence. Dressing properly in a tuxedo required a lot of attention and care, especially since this was the first time either of them had dressed up in years. Prior to the winter formal, the last event had been Aisha's brother's wedding some six odd years ago. And back then, they'd had their mothers to help dress them properly.

"Your dad seemed surprised we weren't taking dates," Adam commented, slipping on his socks.

"He's old school," Rocky explained. He buttoned his pants, eying the belt that hung in his closet. "He thinks you can't go stag to a formal."

"Well, you know, technically, we're not."

"True, but he doesn't know that yet."

_Yet_.

Adam wondered if going public at the dance was going to get back to their parents. The answer his mind came up with was a resounding _yes_. After all, other students in the school would be there, who would surely tell their parents. Given that his dad worked in one of the biggest businesses in Angel Grove and his mother, at the dentist, the rumors would circulate faster than one of Rita's spells gone awry.

Almost as if he'd read his mind, Rocky said to Adam while slipping on his jacket, "Stop worrying, babe. It'll be fine."

He wanted to believe that. He really did. Maybe it would be best if they told their parents up front?

"Stop ruining your night," Rocky persisted.

"All right, all right," Adam groaned. He ran a hand through his curly hair, finishing his ensemble by slipping on his cummerbund and his jacket.

The suit was designed to fit as best as it could, he reminded himself. It wasn't specially sized just for him, but Adam was once again reminded that he had an awkward body shape among men: narrow shoulders, a relatively flat chest and an average waistline. Boxy was a good way to describe it; the tuxedo only seemed to accentuate it.

Still, he had to admit, the dark color of the tuxedo helped lighten the deep brown shade of his eyes, making them stand out more. His pale skin also seemed even more noticeable against the black jacket.

Rocky straightened out a few minor details on his suit before turning to give Adam a quick kiss. "All right, I just need to grab my wallet and my keys and we are out of here!"

Donning their new tuxedos, Rocky and Adam headed back upstairs and were greeted by the whole DeSantos family. Rocky's mother, Maria, had a camera in her hand. She took several pictures of the two boys—some together, some apart, some with the family—and promised that she would send some to Mrs. Park, Adam's mother.

Embarrassment now sufficiently out of the way, the two hurried as quickly as they could out the door and into the safety of Rocky's car sitting in the driveway. Adam never ceased to be amazed by how it always smelled like dirty laundry.

"Do you ever clean out your car?" he commented offhandedly.

Rocky grinned bashfully. "When my mom yells at me, yeah."

He seemed more fidgety than usual, Adam noticed. He watched the other curiously as he ran his hands over his legs, over the wheel, and finally put the keys in the ignition, though he didn't turn it.

Rocky looked at his boyfriend and said, "Close your eyes, Adam, okay?"

"Huh? Okay, if you say so."

Adam closed his eyes as requested, wondering what Rocky was doing. He could hear the other boy fidgeting around inside his car—even felt Rocky's arm slink past him and into the glove compartment—which piqued his interest. Unable to hold them closed any longer, he asked, "Can I open them now?"

"Sure, go ahead."

When he did, Adam glanced back at Rocky, who was holding a set of boutonnieres. They were simple white flowers that Adam couldn't recognize. The gesture, however, he understood perfectly.

"They're white carnations," Rocky explained, almost demurely. "Symbol of pure love and faithfulness. It's only fitting for us to have them for the winter formal, right?"

"Right," Adam said, unable to keep from smiling. He gestured to the flowers. "You learn that in your botany group?"

"You could say that."

Rocky held up the flower with an expression of _May I?_ upon his face. When Adam consented, he reached forward and carefully pinned the carnation to the lapel of his boyfriend's jacket. His brow knit from such intense focus. As he pulled back to admire his work, the Blue Ranger beamed.

"Looks great."

He reached for the other flower, about to pin it on himself, before Adam reached forward and stopped him. "Only fair," he reasoned, to which Rocky ceded. Adam fidgeted with the boutonniere for a few moments, wanting to make sure it stayed, since the carnation was blocking his view of the safety pin. He eventually felt it click into place, at which point he also pulled back to admire his handiwork.

The sight of Rocky dressed up so dashingly, with the flower representing their feelings for each other, and the wide smile on his face was enough to make Adam's heart fill with joy. Maybe it was just stupid teenage puppy love, or maybe it was something more—what did it matter? He was head over heels for his best friend, who felt the same way about him. How many people could say that?

As much as he wanted to lean in and kiss Rocky right then and there, he knew it wouldn't be safe to do it right outside the house. They'd taken too much of a chance in doing their boutonnieres. Rocky's parents surely would wonder why they hadn't heard the rumbling of their son's car leave the driveway yet.

"Come on, we're gonna be late. We don't wanna miss it, right?"

Adam's comment alone sparked another happy smile on Rocky's face. It was infectious; soon he, too, wore a similar expression.

Rocky turned the engine over and buckled up his seatbelt. Afterward, he began to pull out of the driveway and started for the Angel Grove Exposition Center, where the winter formal was being held.


	2. The Winter Formal

**Author's Notes: Awww, lovey dovey Rocky/Adam fluff. That's what you'll find in this chapter. How could winter formal NOT be? Well...just wait until the end. Mwahahaha. Enjoy! **

**Ghostwriter: I'm gonna try and maintain a once-a-week posting, although maybe during November/December we'll move to twice a week, cause I am already about 5 chapters in on the last piece of this trilogy. Whoo!**

**Hackthecatboy: Aw, yay! Well, I like to make comments to people who take the time to review. You are special folk and deserve recognition :)**

**One-Four-One: Ahaha. Well thank goodness you got your laptop back! And AREN'T they? I am in love, sweet puppy love! Rocky/Adam :3**

**Mcflyfreakify: Ask and ye shall receive! I can't explain more but you'll enjoy the reaction, I think. Well, this case. Hehe.**

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><p>Adam could see the decorations from nearly a mile away. The theme for this winter formal was <em>Night in Paris<em>—very predictable—which of course meant the committee went all out, ordering a faux Eiffel Tower to help spruce up the typically plain outside of the building. As he and Rocky pulled in to the extensive parking lot beside the expo center, he had to admire the attention to detail that seemed to have gone even into something as mundane as where you parked your car. The valet service seemed grandiose, and since neither Rocky nor Adam had the money to afford it, they delved further into the parking lot, eventually finding a place amidst the sea of cars.

The air outside was crisp and cool—a perfect evening.

Adam brushed his hands down the front of his tuxedo to smooth out any indentations or wrinkles that had happened while sitting in the car. Rocky came around the car and stood next to him for a moment before reaching out to fidget with Adam's collar. His fingers ghosted over Adam's cheek.

"Something wrong?" he asked in concern.

"No, just wanted to touch you."

When Rocky said things like that, it was hard for Adam not to flush.

The two boys walked the distance across the parking lot to the entrance of the expo center. There were several couples and a few groups making their way inside, as well. Adam looked to Rocky, who had already pulled out his ticket. They both relinquished their passes when required and stepped through the elaborately designed archway that prettied up the main set of entry doors into the expo center. From inside came the sounds of what seemed to be a pretty upbeat dance song—not very French, Adam thought, but the night was young.

He walked with Rocky through the spacious and open front room of the expo center, following the signs that led to their ballroom. When they were within just a few yards of it, Rocky stopped them, turned to Adam, and offered his arm. Seeming to catch the balking expression on the younger one's face, he said:

"Hey, if we're gonna do this, we should do it right, right?"

Rocky was right. Still, Adam was naturally cautious. He did his best not to seem anxious about the fact, and took his boyfriend's arm. He immediately looked around them, wondering who saw, what they were thinking, what they were saying. From the looks of it, however, most were off in their own little world, too engulfed in their _own_ special night to notice that of another.

Adam's relief was short lived, as while walking into the ballroom, he noticed a pair of eyes watch them go by. He swallowed, turned away from them and focused on the path ahead.

"You think the others are here yet?" he asked.

"Probably. I can't see Kat or Tanya missing any second of this, especially since it's Tanya's first dance. And hey, relax." Rocky rubbed Adam's arm. "It'll be okay."

Adam didn't realize he was gripping Rocky's arm so tightly until he brought it to his attention. He cleared his throat, loosened his grip and continued to let his eyes wander around the ballroom. It was a beautiful sight, after all, and he wanted to enjoy it. The setting fit the theme almost perfectly: the once spacious room had been turned into what looked almost identical to a street in Paris. The lights on the ceiling were completely out; the only source came from lanterns and fake street lights that lined either side of the dance floor, which had cleverly decorated to appear like a cobblestone street typically found in France. Situated in the direct center of it was a beautiful replica of a classic, timeless fountain. While no water sprouted forth from it, the idea was incredibly well put together.

On the entire left side of the room was a makeshift café, complete with small round tables decorated with flowers and white tablecloths. What would have been the entrance to the café itself was instead a buffet of different French pastries, desserts, hors d'oeuvres and drinks. There were waiters dressed up and weaving throughout the tables, ensuring they stayed cleaned and organized.

On the other side of the room were the DJ and his studio, as well as a beautiful photo booth laid out with an intricately decorated backdrop of the Arc de Triomphe. There was a line nearly reaching the entrance for the photos.

Adam didn't think he could be so moved by architectural design and decorations, but something about the entire setting dug deep inside of him and made him feel lighthearted and excited.

The two boys veered away from the dance floor and headed for one of the empty tables. However, before they were able to reach one, a familiar, accented voice called out to them.

"Rocky! Adam! Over here!"

They turned in the direction of the voice, seeing Kat walking over to them with her hand in the air. She looked beautiful in her soft pink dress. Adam didn't know what style it was, but he knew that it fit her well and really accentuated her body type. Standing beside her was Tommy, who was wearing a white tuxedo. That was no surprise, he thought with a small grin.

"Hey guys!" Kat said, beaming. She looked the two of them over. "Don't you two look handsome?"

"Thanks," Adam said. He gripped Rocky's arm tighter again, willing himself to keep from acting strange.

"You guys okay?" Tommy asked. He gestured to their interlinked arms. "Didn't hurt yourselves training for your next match, did you?"

Before Adam could speak, Rocky said, "No, actually, we're cool. We just…came together. To the dance. Adam and I."

Kat and Tommy shared a look of surprise, one which Adam had fully expected. Still, he felt his heart skip a beat.

"Cat's out of the bag!" he said.

_Where the hell had _that _come from?_

Their fellow rangers laughed. It was Tommy who said, "Guess we owe Tanya ten bucks."

Rocky and Adam glanced at one another, confused.

"Wait a second," Rocky said. "_What_?"

"Don't be mad," Kat said tentatively. "We just—Tanya said she thought something might be going on between you two. We didn't know for sure, so—"

"You made a wager on it?" Adam asked, balking.

"Tanya seemed very sure," she continued. She brushed a tendril of hair out of her face, chuckling. "I guess she was right."

"So, you guys, you already thought—" Rocky stopped himself. He finally unlinked his and Adam's arms so he could bring his hands up to his face. He smoothed his fingertips over his jaw line. "_Really_?"

"I always…kind of wondered, you know, after what happened with Switch-Hit," Tommy said. "When the other Adam came over and was all lovey-dovey with you, Rocky."

Rocky, taken aback, said, "What, did you think he _made_ me gay, or something, Tommy?"

"No, no, man, don't take it that way," Tommy said. "We support you guys, don't think anything less. We're just glad you finally felt comfortable enough to open up about it. You know?"

"Yeah," Kat agreed, smiling warmly.

"Sorry," Rocky apologized.

Adam felt strange. This was incredibly anticlimactic, and while he had been wishing for that, he had also psyched himself up to the point that he'd anticipated a lot more discussion on the matter. Logic seemed to be thrown out the window when it came to things like his private life and sharing it with his friends. It seemed stupid now to have thought they would have trouble with it.

"Rocky finally convinced me to come," Adam admitted, realizing he had been quiet for some time now. He smiled. "I wasn't going to, but we thought the time was right to finally say something."

"Well, congratulations, guys," Kat said. She linked her arm through Tommy's. "I wish I could say my date tonight was of the romantic type, but Tommy was at least kind enough to take me so I could experience it. It's been a blast so far."

"Where are Tanya and Billy?" Adam asked. He glanced around the room for them, but with the dim lighting it was difficult to distinguish who was out there beyond just a few feet in front of them.

"Billy is getting drinks. And Tanya…well, she was with us, but she disappeared to the ladies' room. Wait, there she is!"

Kat pointed to the entrance of the ballroom. Walking their way in a vibrant yellow dress was Tanya, her hair done up in a tight bun.

"Hey guys," she said in greeting. "Rocky, Adam, you guys made it! I'm surprised, I didn't think either of you were gonna be here."

"It took a little bit of work, but I got Adam to come with me," Rocky said triumphantly. He linked their arms again. "He's my date."

Tanya raised an eyebrow. "Now, wait, are we talking _date _date, or the Kat and Tommy kind of date?"

"What's this about a _date_ date?"

Billy appeared beside them with two champagne glasses full of sparkling cider. He wore a classic tuxedo.

"I was just asking Adam and Rocky if they were on a _date_ date, or if they'd just come to the winter formal together," Tanya explained. Billy handed her one of the glasses, and she said, "Oh, thank you, Billy."

"All right, since it's such a hot topic of debate," Rocky began, "let's just get it out there."

"Rocky and I are dating," Adam blurted out.

The look of surprise on Rocky's face was priceless. Adam hadn't meant to take away Rocky's shining moment, but he hoped he would understand why he'd done it. Saying it aloud in front of all of their friends was a big step for Adam, who had originally been so hush-hush.

"Well, there you go," Rocky said with a chuckle. "I never thought he'd be the one to throw it out there, but it's true."

"Hah!" Tanya said triumphantly. She grinned at Tommy and Kat. "You owe me ten bucks."

Adam shook his head. "Were you guys seriously betting on this?"

"Let's just put it all behind us," Kat suggested. "We're here, and the truth is out, and we're all happy for you. Right, guys?"

Everyone nodded. Adam could feel they were being genuine, which in the end was all that mattered.

"Let's enjoy our night!" Tanya said with a big smile. "It's the winter formal!"

After a rousing round of agreement from each of the other rangers, Adam, along with Rocky, Kat and Tommy, went to get some food from the café. They returned to the cluster of tables that Billy and Tanya had saved for them. There they snacked on pastries and sipped sparkling drinks, shared stories about their classes and their families, and for once, just enjoyed being teenagers. Adam was happy that the conversation did not once turn to their duties as rangers. As much as he loved protecting the planet, he also enjoyed getting to live like a normal kid.

As the night progressed, the style of songs being played slowly began to change. In the beginning they were upbeat—music to dance to. But now, they were becoming ballads and love songs. The DJ was giving students the opportunity to enjoy a nice slow dance.

For Adam, who had only danced once all night, this posed a problem.

He didn't know how to slow dance.

"Adam, can I have this dance?"

The Green Ranger realized his boyfriend was standing up beside him, offering his hand. Adam took it and moved to stand as well.

He supposed there was a first time for everything.

Once on the dance floor, Adam gave Rocky a somewhat helpless look. He didn't know how to lead, or how to follow, or even where to put his feet. Thankfully the other moved in, took hold of his forearms and wrapped them around his shoulders.

"Here, just follow what I do, okay?"

Adam nodded. He couldn't help but shoot a few looks down at their feet. How were they supposed to dance with their limbs tangled up so much, he wondered?

"Ready? One, two, three, go."

Rocky began swaying in tune with the music, pulling Adam carefully along for the ride. As he looked around, he quickly began to notice that most of the other students on the floor were doing something very similar: they were rocking from side to side and spinning in circles.

_Okay, _he thought. _Maybe this isn't as difficult as it seemed._

The music continued to play, offering a rhythm that Adam soon fell into. Just as he got it down pat, the song switched, though the beat remained slow and even. Feeling more comfortable, he was able to focus on the feeling of Rocky's arms around his waist, and the look of complete serenity in his eyes. Rocky had become so much more expressive in their time together as boyfriends, and it intrigued Adam more and more each and every day.

Feeling brave, he leaned in and ghosted his lips over the other boy's.

"This was a good idea," he offered quietly.

"I thought it would be. See? I know what I'm talking about."

Rocky's smile lit up his face. Adam closed his eyes, content, and continued to sway back and forth with the music. They danced through one more song, and when they pulled apart, Adam felt somewhat tired. When he glanced down at his watch he realized that they had been at the dance for just over three hours—midnight had passed a few minutes previous.

"We should probably get going soon," he said to Rocky, who nodded in agreement.

After returning to their table to finish up their drinks and share one more pastry, they corralled their friends up by the fountain and said their goodbyes. They were the first pair to leave, but for good reason: Adam had a martial arts tournament that following afternoon and Rocky had agreed to practice with him in the morning to warm him up.

"Have a good night, guys," Billy said with a wave. "Good luck tomorrow, Adam! We'll see you at the tournament!"

. . . . .

King Mondo watched with a curious eye as the Power Rangers took part in such an elegant affair. They seemed to be having a rather good time.

"What an elegant event they had for themselves," he said to his wife and son, letting out a laugh. "Almost regal, in a way. That they could have such a night means that we aren't giving them enough to worry about!"

"You're quite right, my maniacal monarch," Queen Machina said, fanning herself. "When was the last time we tried to get these meddlesome children out of our plans?"

"When you sent down Boohoo the Clown to try and demolish Angel Grove!" Prince Sprocket said. "Even though it failed miserably!"

"Don't remind me, Sprocket," Mondo said, groaning. He returned his focus to the rangers inside the exposition center. Three of them remained inside the building while two of them broke off.

The smartest thing to do would be to focus on the two. With as many witnesses around as there were, the rangers wouldn't risk giving up their identities…

An idea began to form in his mind.

"Klank!" he shouted.

Klank slinked into the room, Orbus in hand. He asked, "Yes, master?"

Mondo tapped his scepter in Klank's hand. There, a small, rusty cog appeared. "I want you to take this cog and put it on the Blue Ranger's car. I plan to incapacitate two of the rangers by forcing the car they arrived in to go haywire. Report back to me once you've completed the mission."

"Right away, my lord, no problem at all!" Klank said with a fervent nod. He disappeared in a flash of colorful light.

King Mondo stared at the Earth. "It was a mistake to break off from your friends, rangers. As you shall see, you're about to have a _smashing_ good time!"

. . . . .

"Here, Adam, wait here, I'll go get the car."

"Really? Rock, I can walk with you…it's not that far away."

Rocky shook his head. "Hey, just lemme do this. We're doing it the right way, remember?"

He fully expected Adam to disagree again, but surprisingly, he let it go. So, with a smile, Rocky pulled his keys out of his breast pocket and started through the parking lot to his car. He didn't catch sight of the purple flash that lit up the air nearby, focused as he was on trying to find his vehicle. When he finally did, Rocky slipped the key in to unlock it, climbed inside and turned over the engine.

Because of the one-way direction of the parking lot, Rocky had to back out of the parking space and drive through each and every row of cars it in order to arrive at the front of the exposition center. As he turned the first corner, he felt his car lurch. He was used to it giving him some trouble when he started it up, so he thought nothing of it. But to his surprise, when he tried to brake, his car began to gain speed. A car that was backing out stopped at his approach and honked angrily.

"Sorry!" Rocky apologized, repeatedly tapping his brakes, but to no avail.

The more he tried to take control of his car, the more it seemed to do its own thing. It tore around two more corners in rapid succession, at which point Rocky tried to use the steering wheel to stop it. He gripped the wheel tightly, finding his arms jerking wildly as it spun on its own accord.

When Rocky found his car speeding down the main pathway in front of the exposition center, he tried desperately to disengage his key from the ignition. It was stuck like glue. Panicked, he looked in front of him, seeing the entrance to the exposition center approach with devastating speed.

There was only one thing to do now. Rocky had to abandon ship.

With a swift shoulder bash to his car door, Rocky was able to dive out of his vehicle. He wasn't sure how fast he was going when he hit the ground, but it was fast enough to knock the wind out of him. He rolled on the cement for what felt like ages before finally colliding with one of the cement lamp-posts centered in the parking lot. The momentum he had gathered in rolling came to a sudden stop, and he heard a horrific _snap_, followed by a bolt of white-hot pain that shot up his leg.

"Fuck!" Rocky cursed loudly.

He lay there, paralyzed with pain, shrinking back when the unmistakable sound of his car crashing filled his ears.

All that mattered at that moment was trying to find a way to deal with the pain racking his body. This was worse than anything he'd felt before. He didn't know what, but _something_ had definitely broken inside of his leg.

"Rocky!"

Letting out a harsh cry of pain through gritted teeth, the Blue Ranger managed to roll himself onto his back. Something twisted in his leg, causing even more pain to bolt through him. His eyes were clenched shut so tightly he couldn't see the origin of the voice, or the touch. Hands were now gripping his shoulders.

"Rocky, it's me, Adam! What happened? Are you okay?"

"A-Ah!" Rocky stuttered out, grimacing. "My leg, my leg!"

"What happened to your leg?" Adam asked worriedly.

"S-Something broke, I can f-feel it," Rocky grunted. He exhaled sharply. "God, Adam, it hurts. It _hurts_!"

"Don't worry, we'll get help, Rocky. Just stay still! Don't move!"

Adam eased Rocky back onto the cement. All the older boy could do was lie there, trying to weather the sudden wave of nausea that overtook him. He managed to keep himself under control and not heave, but now his hands were starting to hurt, and his elbows, and his knees—

"Adam, hurry!" he cried.

"We need help!"

Rocky couldn't bear the pain anymore. As sickness overtook him, the adrenaline and endorphins in his system conked him out cold.


	3. Aftermath

**Author's Notes: Here we are with chapter three, my loves! I think I may start posting a little more frequently-we'll have to see. I've got plenty of chapters left to go, and I'm already about 10 chapters in to the new tale, which is a mite bit angstier than this one. It's been making me frowny-face for a while. Poor Adam and Rocky, goodness. **

**At any rate, this chapter is filled with lots of fun with the DeSantos family. A note for those who don't speak Spanish: _mijo_ is a word meaning 'my son' that is a pet name often used by mothers for their children. **

**Ghostwriter: More exciting things to come! ;D**

**Hackthecatboy: Thanks! It's all uphill from here! **

**Slashygoodness: Who doesn't enjoy some good slash now and then? haha!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"Oh, how positively devious, my love!"<p>

Queen Machina's voice trilled in excitement. She fanned herself, pacing back and forth across the floor. Her attention darted between the Earth and King Mondo.

"I did quite well, if I do say so, myself. With that Power Ranger out of commission, we'll be able to finally take over Earth as we'd intended long ago!"

"Are you gonna do it now, Dad, huh?" Prince Sprocket asked curiously. He hopped up and down. "Now's the perfect time! Hit them while they're down!"

King Mondo shook his head. "No, son, there's no dignity to be had in destroying them without a challenge. I want to break them apart one by one, make them realize that messing with the Machine Empire is a fate punishable by death!"

"You're giving me chills, my king," Machina said. "What shall we do now?"

"Let us lie in wait." Mondo stared down at Earth, the crown upon his head spinning at a low, languid pace—he was thinking. "We'll attack when the moment is just right. When the rangers are at their most vulnerable."

"Do we have to wait?" Sprocket said with a groan.

"Yes, my child. Soon, you'll learn the importance of giving your opponents a showing of your strength!"

He stamped his scepter into the ground. The Power Rangers would rue the day they tried to fight the Machine Empire—he would make sure of it.

This was only the beginning.

. . . . .

"What _happened_?"

Adam shook his head. He wished he had the slightest idea. This was, of course, the tenth or eleventh time someone had asked him the same question, and the answer remained the same:

"I really don't know."

Thankfully for him, his friends were there to keep him company. Adam, along with Tommy, Kat, Billy and Tanya currently sat inside the reception area of Angel Grove's emergency room. The authorities on scene at the exposition center had called for help, leading them to where they were now.

"Do you think…_they_ have anything to do with it?" Tanya asked, pointing up.

She was obviously referring to the Machine Empire. In truth, Adam wasn't sure. From what he'd been able to see, it looked as if Rocky's car had just malfunctioned. That seemed far too simple for a group as menacing as the empire. What scared him, however, was the uncertainty.

"Maybe," Adam said. "But it just looked like an accident. I guess we'll know more when they figure out what happened with Rocky's car."

"So you said he rolled out of the car?" Billy inquired curiously.

"Yeah. He was driving really fast down the main drag, but he obviously wasn't trying to, otherwise he wouldn't have let his car crash into that tree." Adam mused, "Maybe his brakes went out, or something in his accelerator got stuck?"

Tommy rubbed his eyebrows. "It's not impossible. Rocky's car isn't the newest model. Could be that something got stuck under his break and accelerator and kept him from slowing down."

"If he kept the damn thing clean, maybe it wouldn't have happened," Adam grumbled.

Kat rubbed Adam's shoulders soothingly. "Hey, everyone makes mistakes. Let's just make sure we hope for Rocky's quick recovery, all right?"

Adam nodded, closing his eyes. Nothing about today had been normal. Not only that, but he felt as if he'd aged a good five years from all the stress.

"Did anybody tell Rocky's parents?" Tanya asked.

"Yeah, the EMT notified them," Billy stated. "They'll probably be here shortly."

"You guys don't have to stay," Adam said, shaking his head. "I know it's really late. Go home and get some sleep."

"Are you sure?" Kat said. "Do you have someone to take you home?"

"I only live a few blocks down from Rocky's house. I'm sure his parents will give me a ride home."

Kat and the others all began preparing to leave. He watched each of them, trying to imagine what was going through their heads. He waded through their kind words and their hopeful looks until they had all left. It had probably seemed rude, the way he just sort of went along with it, but he wasn't trying to be. He hoped they didn't blame him. All he could think about was Rocky.

He sat there in the reception area, mind focusing on nothing in particular. He could barely concentrate on a thought for more than a few seconds before something else popped into his head. He stared out the dark window behind his chair and watched as cars drove in and out of the parking garage just across the street.

The sound of Mrs. DeSantos' voice soon caught his attention.

"My name is Maria DeSantos. This is my husband, Ricardo. We're here for our son, Rocky?"

Adam turned and faced the reception desk. There stood Rocky's parents, along with his younger brother, Marco, and younger sisters, Lucy and Nora. From the looks of it they had thrown themselves together in a hurry—they all appeared tired, as if they'd been asleep.

"Mr. and Mrs. DeSantos!"Adam called.

He stumbled momentarily across the seating area—his foot had fallen asleep—and over to his boyfriend's family.

"Adam! Is Rocky all right?" Mr. DeSantos asked. "What happened to him?"

"The doctor will explain everything," the triage nurse behind the desk explained. "She's actually just finishing up with your son right now. If you like, go through the door beside here and meet him by the registrar."

"Adam, _mijo_, come with us," Rocky's mother said.

A sense of comfort washed over him at the name—she had been calling him that for years now, ever since Adam had more or less become a part of their family. Rocky had explained to him that she only called her children that name, which made him feel special.

She wrapped her arm around him, guiding him along with them over to the door leading into the emergency rooms. As the six of them passed through, Adam's stomach lurched. He'd never liked hospitals, having always harbored a rather crippling fear of needles. He saw a biohazard waste disposal box and shivered at the thought of how many lay inside there, just waiting to pierce and stab him.

They were greeted shortly by the doctor on call. She had a clipboard in her hand and a pen in between her teeth. Her sleek hair was pulled back in a ponytail behind her. Her white lab coat was a contrast to the dark complexion of her skin.

She smiled. "I'm Doctor Johnson. Your son really did a number on himself, didn't he?"

Maria and Ricardo looked at each other in concern.

"His friend here told me that he jumped out of a moving vehicle to save himself from crashing. Looks like, however, he did just as much damage to himself by rolling out than staying in…"

Dr. Johnson took Adam and the DeSantos family down a long, rectangular hallway toward the very end, turning into a room marked _17._ Inside was the usual medical equipment: a stethoscope, blood pressure gauge, a sink, some gloves. In the very center of the room was the bed, upon which Rocky lay. He was dressed in a hospital gown with his leg elevated just slightly in the air. His eyes were open, which was a great sign. Unfortunately there were several new purplish red cuts and bruises scattered across his face and arms.

"Hey, Rocko," Ricardo said. He smiled at his son, while his wife reached out to him and brushed her fingers over his forehead. "What happened to him, doctor?" he went on to ask.

"Your son has what we call a medial malleolus fracture. In other words, he broke his ankle. From what he told me, it happened by coming into contact with a lamp post in the parking lot of the exposition center."

Rocky groaned. He shifted, though only slightly, and his eyes fell on Adam. Adam's heart skipped a beat. He gave a small wave.

"How you feeling?"

"Out of it," came Rocky's gravelly reply.

"Will he need surgery?" Maria asked.

"That decision is up to you. Based on what his X-Ray shows here,"—she pulled out an x-ray sheet from the file folder on her clipboard and placed it on the display board—"the fracture occurred in two major points, here and here." She pointed to the spots on the display, turning to the DeSantoses. "Rocky could recover just fine without surgery, but it could take significantly longer and he would have to avoid putting any major stress on it for several months."

"What good would the surgery do? Help stabilize his ankle?" Marco asked.

For a thirteen year-old, he was incredibly astute, Adam thought. He never ceased to be amazed by the things Marco came up with.

"More or less, yes. Plus, it would offer the best chance for his ankle to heal properly. It's not a requirement by any means, but Rocky told me he does martial arts. I also got the feeling that he doesn't want to be out of commission for long."

While Dr. Johnson smiled, Adam frowned. He knew exactly why Rocky wanted surgery—it offered the best chance for him to heal safely and quickly, so he could get back to his duties as a Power Ranger. It was a smart decision, but also much more costly. For a single-income family with four kids, that could be an incredible stretch of money.

"Could his ankle heal on its own?" Ricardo asked.

"Yes, without a doubt. He's young, and will likely heal just fine. However, given how physically active he seems to be, it would be in his best interest to have the surgery help ensure that."

They were at an impasse. Adam could tell that Mr. and Mrs. DeSantos weren't entirely sure which option to go with. Rocky's dad made good money, and while their family insurance would certainly help, a surgery was nothing to gawk at. They were expensive. The young Asian boy wanted to tell them, "Yes! Yes! Give him the surgery! He needs it!" but couldn't. If they asked why, he couldn't give them the real reason.

Rocky and Adam shared another look. There was obvious worry in those beautiful brown eyes, and Adam did the best he could to comfort him from afar. He felt awkward standing there in the corner of the room as he was, dressed to the nines in such formal clothing, inappropriate for the intimate moment.

"Can we have time to think on it?" Maria asked. "We need to review our finances and make sure we can afford the procedure."

"Certainly," Dr. Johnson said. "I'd like Rocky to stay overnight just to keep an eye on him, anyway. Plus, if you decide to go with the surgical option, it will be easier to have him here than to bring him in again."

"You gonna be okay here overnight, Rocko?" his father asked him.

Rocky nodded. "I'll be fine. Dr. Johnson's been great."

"Don't worry, _mijo_, we'll be back first thing tomorrow morning, all right?" Maria brushed her fingers through her son's cropped brown hair. "Get some good rest tonight. We'll see you soon. Love you."

"Love you," Rocky said.

"Feel better Rocky!" his little sisters said in unison, moving close to him and giving him a careful hug on either side of the bed.

"Yeah, feel better, doofus," Marco said. "Hurting yourself on your big dance night." Although he shook his head and tried to play it off like a joke, there was clear concern within his eyes.

"Watch it. I can still take you out," Rocky said to his brother, grunting in effort as he moved to sit up. He gestured for Adam to come over. "Hey, guys, can I have a minute alone with Adam please?"

Maria ushered her family out of the room, with Dr. Johnson following shortly behind her. Before she left completely, however, the doctor said, "We'll be back to check on you in about fifteen minutes, Rocky. Then you can to go sleep, all right?"

"Thanks, doc. I appreciate it."

Dr. Johnson shut the thick wooden door behind her, making the room blissfully quiet. Adam's mind had been nonstop since the incident had occurred, with not a moment's peace. Although he was far from happy that _this_ was the moment that had given him silence, he had to make do with what was offered to him.

Rocky smiled wryly. "So, gimme the real low down. How do I look?"

Adam snorted. "Not nearly as bad as I figured you would from rolling out of a car. The waiting was killing me."

"Killing _you_? I was the one blacking out from the pain. I only fully remember maybe fifteen minutes of the last two hours of my life. And believe me, those were not some great minutes."

"Well, let's just be happy that it was only a fracture. It could have been a lot worse." Adam glanced around briefly for a chair. He found one close by at the sink, and so he snatched it up, bringing it beside Rocky's bed and taking a seat. "What _happened_?"

The brunette sighed, leaning back into the bed. "I don't know. I was driving, and the car just…got a mind of its own. Like it was possessed."

"Possessed?"

"I tried pumping the brakes so many times, I feel like I should have broken them…tried to stop the wheel from turning, too, but the car apparently had auto-pilot."

Adam frowned. This was much worse than they'd originally thought.

"I know that look," Rocky said. "You don't think it was…?"

"I can't think of any other thing that would make a machine drive on auto-pilot. Tanya wondered if maybe the empire was involved, but I didn't want to believe it. Guess there's no other option, now. Not with the way you made it sound."

"Yeah, well, they sure did a number on me. I'm laid up in bed and out of commission for God only knows how long."

Neither boy wanted to say it, but a broken bone was about the worst thing that could happen to a Power Ranger. If Rocky couldn't fight, that put them at an extreme disadvantage.

"Wonder if there's anything Alpha can do in the Power Chamber. You know, to speed up the process?"

"Can't do that," Adam said. "Not if you're gonna be visiting your doctor often. She's probably seen dozens of broken bones…if you heal way too fast, it's gonna seem real suspicious."

The Blue Ranger groaned in frustration. He closed his eyes and shifted around in the bed. "I can't believe this happened."

"There's not much we can do about it now," Adam said. He took a deep breath. Without thinking, his hand had snaked its way toward Rocky's, cupping carefully over it so as to not squish the IV that was threaded into it.

"I'll stay the night here with you," he continued.

"Adam, you can't," Rocky began. He sat up far too quick, making him hiss in pain and lie back down. "Damn it. You've got that match tomorrow. You need your rest."

"Gonna call it off."

"Like hell you are."

"What? I want to make sure I'm here for you."

"Adam, you _have_ been here for me. You've been here with me the entire way. Now, I'm fine, so go home and get some sleep so you're at one-hundred percent for tomorrow's match."

Adam shook his head. "What if your parents can afford the surgery?"

"Then I guess I get the surgery."

"But—"

"No buts, mister. Unless you're gonna show me yours." Rocky grinned, though the visible exhaustion coursing through him morphed it into a half, lop-sided one. "I'll make sure my mom and dad tell you what's going on. And you can always stop by the house tomorrow night. You focus on that tournament."

Adam stayed silent. He couldn't argue with Rocky's logic, which was strangely accurate in itself. He let the conversation go, focusing instead on the gentle stroking of his forefinger over Rocky's arm he'd begun to do while they spoke.

Rocky smiled tiredly. "Wouldn't exchange tonight for anything, ever. Just so you know."

"Me, neither," the dark haired boy replied. He gave a smile of his own. "Although I'd definitely exchange the broken ankle and possessed car, if I could."

"Well, yeah, of course, in a perfect world…"

"I should get going," Adam said after a few more moments. He moved to stand, and before he lifted his touch from Rocky's skin, he kissed him on the forehead.

From the corner of his eye he saw the door open.

It all happened so fast. Adam pulled away, but it was too late. Mrs. DeSantos, standing in the doorway, caught sight of the two boys in their intimate moment.

She remained silent at first. Then, as if nothing had happened at all, said, "Come on, Adam, we'll take you home, love, all right?"

"O-Okay," Adam replied. "See you, Rocky," he said just before walking out the door.

"Bye," replied an equally mortified Rocky.

Adam's stomach lurched.

That was completely unexpected.

_Such a stupid move_, he thought.

He wanted to smack himself.


	4. Rocky's Homecoming

**Author's Notes: Hi everyone! Here I am with chapter four. :) This specific chapter is, of course, more of Adam's delightful neuroses rearing their ugly heads. Also, Rocky gets to finally go home, yay!**

**Hackthecatboy: Ahaha, that's how I always write! It's all about cliff-hangers and making sure you're sufficiently sucked in to the tale, eagerly awaiting the next chapter. I love suspense!**

**Ghostwriter: Thanks! Ricardo...well, I won't give anything away, because I don't want to ruin the story. Suffice to say, how he responds (when he eventually does), is intriguing. Among other things!**

**Please enjoy guys and gals!**

* * *

><p>Adam didn't sleep at all that night.<p>

Having always been one with an active imagination, his mind tortured him with elaborate detail the multitude of ways his and Rocky's situation could go. All because he'd made one stupid decision that could have easily waited until they were in a place that was completely private.

Mrs. DeSantos did not mention what had happened in the E.R. on their way home, which had only furthered Adam's paranoia. If she had a problem with it, why didn't she say anything? Or if she didn't, couldn't she have at least said _that_?

Either way, every minute he spent awake was another minute wasted to his mind coming up with ridiculous scenarios that made him either feel sick to his stomach or angry with rage.

Of course, the sensible thing to do would be to just try and just see the positive. Maybe she would be happy for them! After all, Adam and Rocky were best friends, close as two boys could be. They complemented each other well and they kept each other out of trouble.

What was that saying? One step forward, two steps back?

Yes, that was it. That was just how he felt.

Adam's distraction over his predicament led to an unfortunate failure during his match. He'd been knocked out early during the qualification round, which on some level may have been a blessing in disguise. Adam had only entered this specific tournament at the behest of his father, who was disappointed Adam hadn't been actively participating in as many competitions as he used to. What his father didn't know was just how often his martial arts were put to use during his constant fights with the monsters that threatened Angel Grove. His friends reminded him of that when they gathered together at Ernie's after the tournament, but it didn't matter, really. He'd written the tournament off the second he'd lost. The next one he would win—he was sure of that. No ifs, ands or buts.

That evening after the tournament, Adam excused himself from his house and took the fateful walk to Rocky's, just a few blocks away. Despite feeling sick to his stomach at the thought, he'd told his boyfriend that he would go and see what the end result was as soon as possible. Whether it was a phone call or in person, he would need to interact with Rocky's mother eventually. He figured going in person would give him more clout.

Right?

Right.

Adam's palms were slightly sweaty as he rang the doorbell to the DeSantos house. The door opened, revealing Rocky's youngest sister, Nora. She smiled.

"Hi Adam!"

"Hi Nora. Is your mom or dad home?"

"They're both home. We're about to go to the hospital. Rocky's gotten the surgery for his foot!"

Adam blinked. "Oh, they went ahead with it?"

"Nora, who's at the door—"

Maria stepped through the living room and stopped just beside the front door. She gave Adam a smile.

"Evening, Adam. Did you come by to check up on Rocky? We're all about to go see him. Did you want to come with us?"

"Would it be all right?" Adam asked, sticking his hands into his pockets.

"Sure, come on in, _mijo_. We'll be taking off here in just a few minutes."

Adam stepped into the DeSantos house, feeling almost like he was stepping into a trap. But at the same time, a part of him began to feel like perhaps he was over exaggerating. Maybe there really _were_ no problems with what she'd seen. And then all of that worrying would be for nothing.

Sometimes Adam wondered what people would think of his calm, collected façade if they knew that beneath the surface bubbled so much uncertainty.

He stood in the doorway for the few minutes it took the DeSantoses to finish getting ready to go. One by one they filed out the door, with Adam following behind. He could have sworn Rocky's mother gave him a look before they walked out, but maybe he was just seeing things.

Who knew anymore?

. . . . .

"Rocky?"

It took a few times hearing his name for Rocky to register what was going on. He opened his eyes blearily, trying to bring things into focus. He saw several figures standing around him but couldn't differentiate them right off the bat.

"Rocky, can you hear me?"

He recognized that voice—it belonged to his mother.

"Mom?" he asked, throat dry and voice strained.

"Yes, it's me, _mijo_, _como estas_?"

"My leg…"

Things finally began to come into focus after about a minute. Rocky saw his mother, his father, his siblings, and—and _Adam_. He smiled tiredly.

"The doctor said everything went very well," his mother said.

He could feel her light touch over his forehead. While everything seemed to hurt, it was a dull pain—distant. He figured it was the medication they had put him on before he went under for his surgery. Or maybe it was the drugs from after. He wasn't really sure either way.

"How you feelin', big bro?" Marco asked.

"Tired," Rocky groaned.

At that moment, he was very grateful to have everyone there in the room with him, Adam especially. He wanted to reach out to him, but he stopped himself. With his entire family in the room, that probably would seem very strange to them.

What he wouldn't give at that moment to have just Adam in here, touching him and caressing him…

"Can I go home now?" he asked, swallowing.

"The doctor says you need to stay overnight so they can monitor you," his dad said. "So it'll be just a little longer. But whatever gets you feeling better, Rocko. We don't wanna risk it."

Rocky just nodded.

"Anything I can get for you, son?" his mom asked him.

"No, I'm fine. Just need to rest."

"Well, we can let you sleep. We just wanted to stop by and see how you were doing. We brought Adam, too."

Rocky already knew, but he acted surprised nonetheless. He couldn't remember that not but a minute ago, he was openly smiling at the other boy.

"Hey, Adam."

"Hey," he offered back.

"We'll go ahead and leave you be for now, kiddo," his dad said. He nudged Rocky's chin carefully, smiling. "Get some rest. When you come home tomorrow night, we'll have everything set up and ready for you."

"Thanks, guys...looking forward to going home."

As his family prepared to leave, Rocky noticed his mother reach over and pat Adam on the shoulder.

"Coming with us?"

"Actually," Adam began, "Can I stay? I'll find a way home, don't worry."

Rocky's mother hesitated. Rocky's mind was too hazy to recall what had happened the day before, but he saw Adam stiffen slightly. Nonetheless, she nodded, patting his shoulder.

"All right, but if you need anything, let us know, all right? Bye, _mijo_, sleep well! We love you!"

Once everyone was gone, Rocky closed his eyes. It surprised him how he could become exhausted in such a short period of time. While what he had done to him wasn't considered major surgery, it nonetheless was his first, making him all the more susceptible to the after effects of heavy medication.

He didn't need to open his eyes to feel that Adam had come and sit down beside him.

"How'd it go?" Adam asked quietly.

"Dunno…I was out like a light ten seconds into the anesthesia. When I woke up, I was in here."

Rocky finally opened his eyes and looked over at Adam. He reached out and attempted to put his hand on the other's, though he missed it by a few inches and ended up on his forearm. It was smooth, warm. He smiled.

"Will you run your fingers through my hair?" Rocky asked.

Adam chuckled. Rocky looked at him, putting on his best puppy dog face which, for the time being, proved quite simple.

"Please?"

"All right, all right. You sure it won't hurt your head?"

"No, no, it's cool…"

Rocky felt his scalp tense in anticipation of Adam's touch. As his lithe fingers brushed through his hair, his body instantly relaxed. This was easily the one thing that he could never get tired of. To his surprise, however, it lasted only for a few moments. He looked a little lost and confused when Adam pulled back his fingers, setting his hand in his lap.

"Why'd you stop?"

"What if your mom comes back? Or your dad?"

"I don't care, they can see…not like I got anything to hide." Rocky realized what he said once it came from his mouth. He blinked, slowly. "Oh, lord…this medicine is strong. I can't keep my head straight."

Adam chewed on his lower lip. "You need to get your rest. I should go."

"Adam, wait…" Rocky tightened his grip on his boyfriend's forearm. "I totally just remembered. How did your tournament go?"

Normally the way the other hesitated would have been a cause for concern. However, Rocky didn't catch it in his less-than-alert state. He just waited for Adam to answer, not realizing how long it took.

"I…didn't make it through the qualifying rounds."

Rocky's outrage was far more subdued than it actually sounded to him. "Oh, no, what? How did you not make it?"

Adam shook his head. "It just…wasn't meant to be this time, that's all."

Without his proper coherence, Rocky didn't have the focus or the energy to pursue the conversation. Instead he became distracted by the heaviness of his eyelids, and the sudden haze that built up in his mind. His grip on Adam's forearm loosened until his hand started to fall.

"I'm gonna head home, Rock, you get some good sleep, all right?" Adam moved to stand.

"Mm-hmm…"

Rocky had already begun to fall asleep. He felt a warm sensation on his forehead and heard the sound of footsteps gradually disappear before he drifted off.

. . . . .

"All right. Easy, easy! He's still not used to the crutches yet, don't let him fall. Ay, _cuidado_!"

"Mom, you're not making it any easier!"

Rocky wobbled on his crutches with several pairs of watchful eyes all around him. He saw his brother's and dad's hands reach out to stabilize him, but he managed to do it himself. Still, he felt them hovering, and he wanted to tell them to get out of his way. His pain was higher today than usual thanks to a lower dosage of narcotics given to him at the hospital upon his release. The doctor had wanted his senses to be more acute so he could get used to using the crutches.

He already hated them.

"Guys, I can do it, I'm okay!" Rocky insisted with an edge to his voice.

The DeSantos family made it into their home without incident. Rocky, however, knew immediately that when he stepped into the house, there was no way in hell they were letting him stay in his room down that long flight of stairs. The only option was the living room, or his parents' bedroom.

So he wasn't surprised to hear his mother say, "We've set up the living room for you until you can walk back down to your room, _mijo_."

_Great_, he thought. _Six weeks without _any _privacy whatsoever._

He knew people liked to joke—Adam especially—about the lack of privacy in his house, but Rocky had plenty in his bedroom. There, at least he had a quiet sanctuary to call his own. Now he had to share the living room with whoever wanted to watch television, or play Super Nintendo, or read, or whatever. Given his brother's obsession with his newest video game, he figured they'd be spending an awful lot of time together.

"Thanks, Mom," was all Rocky offered. He was trying not to seem ungrateful, but it was hard not to be upset when you couldn't even go downstairs to your room and sleep in your own bed.

Rocky hobbled over to the couch and carefully eased himself onto it. The muscles in his upper arms, shoulders and pecs were sore from the rough support provided by the crutches. He massaged himself for a moment, lying back.

"Here, let me get that for you," his mother said, already lifting up his casted ankle and propping it up on some raised pillows. "You need to keep it raised when you sit, _querido_, otherwise it's going to swell worse and you'll be in more pain."

"I know, I know…"

"Rocky, your mother and I are going to go get your medicine from the pharmacy just up the road," his dad said. He turned to Marco, Lucy and Nora. "It's almost time for you all to get ready for bed. You all be quiet now, all right? Your brother's gonna need his rest these next couple of days."

"We know," his siblings said in unison.

"Marco, you watch your sisters and make sure they get to bed before nine, all right?"

"All right, dad," Marco said. He waved his hands. "Go on, get out of here. We'll be okay."

"Look at him, mister bossy," Lucy said. She slapped Marco on the back, laughed, and then bolted down the stairs to her and Nora's bedroom.

"Rocky, do you need anything else?" his mother asked. "Juice? A book? The remote?"

"Could you get me the phone?" he asked.

She picked up the cordless phone from the charger and handed it to him. "All right, son, we love you. We'll be back soon."

"Bye Rocko!"

"Bye dad, thanks!"

With everyone out of the room, Rocky pulled up the antenna on the phone and pressed the TALK button. He quickly dialed in Adam's number and listened to the line ring.

"Hello?" came a voice on the other side.

"Ah, hi, Mrs. Park! It's Rocky. Is Adam there?"

The voice brightened. "Ah, hi Rocky! Adam is here, let me go get him for you." He heard muffled through the line: _Adam, phone for you! _Then: "He's coming, Rocky, just one minute."

"Thanks."

"Hello?"

Adam's voice sent a warm flush through him, making him smile. Rocky said, "Hey. Can you come over after school tomorrow? And bring everyone with you?"

"Yeah, sure. So you got home okay? That's good." He could hear Adam's smile through his voice.

"Yeah. Now I have to get used to using crutches. I have a doctor's note for missing some school, but I don't wanna fall behind. You, Tanya, Kat, Tommy and Billy are all in one or another of my classes, so I figure you guys can let me know what's going on."

Adam chuckled. "Is your mom or dad in the room there with you?"

"No," Rocky said with a snort, "Why?"

"Nothing, just sounds like something you'd say with them around. Although now, actually, I—" But Adam stopped himself. "No, never mind."

"What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, really, never mind."

Having learned long ago that whenever Adam said _never mind_, he really meant _It's actually really important but I don't want to tell you right now_, Rocky asked again. "No, come on, what is it?"

Adam quieted considerably. "It's just…well. You remember what happened the other night, right? In the hospital?"

"No…what?" Mortified, Rocky asked, "Oh, God, did I do something when I was drugged up?"

"No, no…it was me. I kissed you and your—your mom…she saw."

Rocky had to stop and think for a moment. The last two days were a melded mess of jagged memories for him, but after taking time to recall, he did remember his mother seeing Adam give him a kiss on the forehead.

His stomach sank and he went white as a sheet. He'd forgotten all about that.

"I'd completely forgotten!"

"It's eating me alive, Rocky. She hasn't said anything about it since it happened…I don't know if it's a good thing, or a bad thing, or what. What do you think? Is she gonna do something about it?"

Adam sounded worried. Normally, Rocky would calm him down and tell him to stop overthinking things. However, when it came to this specific matter, he felt his brain begin to panic and lose its sense of control. The medication only served to make things worse.

"I don't know what in the world she's gonna do," he replied, concerned. "She hasn't said a single thing about it. Maybe she wants us to? Oh, God! Did she tell my dad?"

Rocky may have been ready to come out, but that was on _his_ terms, and _his_ playing field. He'd thought for years about how he was going to tell his mother and father, his siblings, hell, even Adam, but none of the scenarios involved them discovering prior to him being ready. This threw a big wrench into an already flawed situation. Rocky felt his blood pump faster, which made the dull pain in his leg throb worse.

"Do you think we should tell her?" Adam asked.

"Maybe," Rocky mused. He rubbed his forehead, pausing momentarily at the sound of rapid footsteps making their way up the stairs. His sisters were terrible eavesdroppers. "Hey, I, uh, gotta go. Siblings running about. But can we talk tomorrow after school?"

"Yeah. Yeah, of course."

There was dejection in Adam's voice, though Rocky didn't blame himself. He couldn't control his siblings when he had two working legs—how was he supposed to do it when he only had one?

"See you tomorrow," Adam said, giving him just enough time to say it back before hanging up the phone.

Rocky groaned.

Could this night get any worse?


	5. A Mother Knows

**Author's Notes: I'm back from vacation, yay! And with a new chapter to boot. Happy times abound my friends, happy times! And AWKWARD times, as this chapter has the confrontational scene between Maria DeSantos, Rocky and Adam-the moment we've been waiting for! I won't say how it goes, because that's half the fun, so please let me know what you thought of it. :)**

**Hackthecatboy: Here you go! I expect a full commentary, my friend! Hehe.**

**Ghostwriter: So far so good for mister Rocky, although this chapter may beg to differ. ;) Thanks!**

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><p>"You really think King Mondo has something to do with it?"<p>

The disbelief in Billy's voice was warranted, Adam thought, even though it irritated him. Everything, however, had been irritating him today. Yet another sleepless night had led him to wavering moods of grouchiness and apathy. The other rangers could tell he was feeling off, but thankfully, nobody seemed to be digging too deep. In truth, Adam didn't want to talk about it. He didn't want to _think_ about it.

"Well, if Rocky wasn't able to control his car and said something was possessing it, it only makes sense," Tommy said. "He _knows_ how to drive; we've all seen him do it plenty of times."

"Why hasn't Mondo attacked again since?" Tanya mused. She gripped tighter onto her book bag. "I don't like it, guys."

"Me, either," Tommy said. "I have a feeling if they _are_ connected, they'll strike again. Be careful."

Adam knocked on the door once they arrived at Rocky's house. He heard Rocky's mother's voice on the other side; she appeared shortly after, pulling open the door.

"Ah, hello!" she said to the group.

"Hi, Mrs. DeSantos," Adam said. "We just came by to make sure Rocky had notes for his classes today."

"Ah, great! He's been bored all day, watching those cartoons of his. Come on in, come on in!"

There was some dispersed laughter among the rangers. They followed Maria into the house, and she shut the door behind them.

"Would any of you like some snacks?" she asked.

"Oh, no, we're fine," Kat said politely. "But thank you very much."

"All right! If you need anything, just let me know."

Maria wandered off down the stairs. Adam wondered what she was off to do—she rarely went down there unless to get something from one of the kids' rooms.

"Guys!"

Rocky's somewhat groggy voice came from across the distance from the couch to the front door.

"Aw, Rocky!"

Tanya and Kat both walked over to the couch and kneeled down beside the arm, where Rocky was propped up. From the looks of it he was had just taken his medication—his eyes were half-lidded and he was moving slower than usual.

Kat patted Rocky's shoulder. "How're you feeling?"

"Zoned out," Rocky replied. He blinked, sluggishly. "This medicine makes me feel so wonky."

"That's probably because you've never been on a heavy dosage of medication," Billy explained. He smiled a little. "It's causing your system to slow down considerably. Do you feel any pain?"

"Yeah…but I've gotten better with dealing with it."

Even though all of the other rangers were now aware of his and Rocky's relationship, Adam restrained his urge to kneel down and give Rocky a hug. He flushed at the thought of what they might think, even though he _knew_ they didn't care. The fact that he also felt the urge to glance toward the staircase told him that he was worried his mother might see, too.

So, he stood there awkwardly with his bag over his shoulder, watching Kat and Tanya soothe Rocky in his place.

"We have all your notes here," Tanya said. "For your classes. Adam said you wanted us to bring them by and see us."

"Adam? Oh, hey…"

Rocky's face lit up when he saw Adam. He reached out with his arms, urging the other to come closer. Kat and Tanya moved out of the way but Adam didn't move in right away. He chanced another glance at the staircase, finally moving in and giving Rocky a firm, loving hug.

"Hey, Rock," he said against the warm skin of the other's neck. He didn't want to pull away, but he did, offering the other a smile.

"You gonna stay and help me study?" he asked, a genuine smile on his face.

Adam couldn't help but grin. Rocky was amusing when hopped up on meds. His smile was adorable, and was awfully goofy.

"Sure. I can stay until dinner, then I gotta head home."

"Glad to see you're feeling better, man," Tommy said. He clasped Rocky's shoulder. "You're gonna heal in no time."

Rocky nodded. "Man, I hope so. I don't want to be stuck like this forever."

"Look at it this way," Tanya began, a smirk pulling at her lips, "At least you have a built in nurse here for you." She stared at Adam.

The young Asian boy flushed. "Hey!"

"You're taking care of him, right?" Kat asked. "He needs you!"

"Yeah, listen to Tanya and Kat," Rocky said. "They know what they're talking about."

Adam said, "Of course I'm taking care of you…time permitting. You've got your mom and dad, too."

"But they don't heal me with kisses."

"Oh, Rocky…"

Adam's flush deepened until his pale cheeks were tomato red. The other rangers were all laughing, which only made it worse. He took a seat in the chair across from the sofa and dropped his bag down beside him.

"Don't you guys have somewhere to be?" he asked his friends expectantly.

"All right, all right, we get the hint," Tommy said. He held up his hands. "We'll leave you two alone. Don't get into trouble, all right?"

"_Bye guys_," Adam said with a firm tone.

"See you at school tomorrow," Kat said. She ruffled Rocky's hair. "And we'll see you later this week. Feel better, Rocky!"

"Yeah, feel better, Rocky," Tanya said with a smile.

The two of them started for the door, followed by Tommy and Billy, who also offered their goodbyes. This left Adam alone with Rocky, though he knew Rocky's mom was still downstairs doing God knew what.

He really wished she would just admit that she'd seen something so that he could _know_. Uncertainty had never sat well with Adam, and as he got older, it became more and more unbearable. It didn't help, either, that Rocky was feeling lovey-dovey and wanted to have him nearby.

"Come on, just sit on the couch with me."

"Your leg, Rock, I don't want to hurt it."

"My ankle is fine, babe, just sit over here a minute. Please?"

It was hard saying no to him when he looked so innocent. Adam sighed and climbed out of his chair, heading over to the couch and taking a seat beside Rocky's torso. The other's right arm came to rest across his legs, making Adam temporarily jump in place.

"Relax, I just want to be near you. Not gonna touch…know my mom's downstairs. You're too worked up, you need to calm down."

Adam tried to do just that. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and reminded himself of who he was with and what they were doing.

"How'd you sleep?"

"Not too great. Can't move from this position for at least a full day so my butt's fallen asleep and my back hurts."

Adam sent a furtive glance to the staircase. No footsteps. He reached up and brushed his fingers over Rocky's face, jaw line and neck. There were still a few small, visible cuts from where he'd hurt himself while rolling along on the pavement.

"Sorry, Rock. It'll get better soon, though. You can walk around now, right?"

"Yeah, but I don't want to while I'm on these pain pills. Feel like I'm gonna fall over."

"Nah, you won't. You got me." Adam wrapped his hands around Rocky's, giving him a smile. "I won't let you fall."

Rocky lay back, resting his head on the pillows behind it. "Nngh, so sweet to me…"

"Tell you what. I'll read you the notes from Trig if you promise to actually listen and not fall asleep."

Adam tried to reach over to his bag and grab his binder, but to no avail. He would have to get up and though he really didn't feel like it at that moment, he wanted to be productive. Or try to be, at least.

"Hey, Rocky, I gotta—"

Adam heard soft breaths exhaling through the other's nose, which brought his attention back to him.

Rocky had already fallen asleep.

The Green Ranger snorted faintly. He knew the moment that he tried to pull away would be the exact moment Rocky woke up—it _always_ was. Since he'd just fallen asleep, it didn't seem right to do such a thing. So, reaching for the remote on the coffee table, Adam flicked on the television and switched it to VH1.

He smiled.

. . . . .

Nearly three weeks passed without incident from the Machine Empire following Rocky's surgery, much to the concern of the Power Rangers. While they kept on their toes, not a single thing happened—not even so much as a Cog attack. All remained suspicious, but in truth, it was a blessing in disguise. It gave all of them the time they needed to catch up with the important things in their everyday lives.

Rocky, for one, was especially glad, given what had happened to him. Suspicion remained just below the surface—after all, how could he be attacked like that and have nothing follow up on it?—however he was thankful for the time given to focus on his recovery. The first few days after his surgery were a hectic mess of sharp pains and irritability. Whether it was the swelling, the medication, his family, his inability to sleep, or even just the choice of daily television, Rocky had a rough time getting through it all. He thanked God every day he had Adam there with him, as well as his mother and father, because without them, he wouldn't have survived. Tough and independent though he was, he had needed people to lean on, and he had them.

Maybe on some level, too, he just hammed it up so that Adam would stick around longer.

But the other boy would never find that out…

The second week proved a little less challenging once he was able to get up and walk around. Of course, that was once the blood flow in his leg got used to him standing for longer periods of time. At his follow-up appointment earlier that morning, Dr. Johnson put him in an air cast, which made life hundreds of times better. Not only was it lighter, but it _breathed_, and life was suddenly good again. The crutches were still a pain and made him sore each and every time he used them, but he was grateful just for the ability to move around again without that terrible cast he'd left the hospital with. The first few days following his surgery, he thought he'd never walk again.

Rocky had not forgotten about what Adam had mentioned regarding his mother seeing them be intimate. He could have sworn she sent him furtive glances whenever the two boys were together, but without bringing it up, there was no way to be sure. They had talked at length about it, agreeing that if she said nothing, neither would they. It wasn't as if they didn't know how to act innocent, after all. They'd been best friends for years; they knew how to go about things.

That thought remained on Rocky's mind as he and his mother pulled into their driveway just after two-thirty. To his pleasant surprise, Adam was walking up the sidewalk, his book bag draped over his shoulder.

"Adam!" Rocky called through the open window.

Adam didn't call back, but he did wave.

"You boys, really," Maria said with an amused shake of her head. "Inseparable."

She climbed out of the car, helping Rocky out by opening his door and prepping his crutches for him. When he stepped onto the cement with his other ankle he carefully allowed himself to put the tiniest bit of weight on the other leg. It hurt, and he'd expected that. So, as was typical when walking, he used the crutches for support, instantly feeling a tight, burning sensation in his lower neck and shoulders.

Adam whistled upon his arrival. "Look at you, Mister Cool. Complete with a new cast and everything."

"Better watch out, I'm _really _mobile now," Rocky said with a wink.

Rocky watched his mother head for the house after she greeted Adam. He followed her shortly afterward, urging his boyfriend to go along with him. Once they were inside Adam shut the door behind them, going with Rocky toward the couch. Despite Maria's every attempt to keep her son's makeshift space clean, he always somehow managed to dirty it up again not but a few minutes later. Now that he was up and mobile, Rocky had agreed to fold up his linens every day so that the couch could return to being used as usual.

"You wanna help me?" he asked Adam. "Promised mom I'd do it when we got back from the doctor."

"Sure."

As Rocky eased himself onto the coffee table to sit atop it while he folded up his blanket, he looked around for his mom. With her nowhere in sight, he proceeded to ask, "Everything still…copacetic?"

"Huh? Oh." Adam nodded quickly. "Yeah, no news is good news. Billy said he's been keeping a close eye out for any activity, but nothing's really popped up just yet."

"So weird."

On some deeper level, Rocky was itching for something to happen. He knew he couldn't participate, but he was so used to their lives being interrupted by evil forces that he couldn't take much more of this complacency. Maybe that was Mondo's new method: drive them crazy and then see what happens.

That made Rocky laugh.

Adam stared at him. "What's so funny?"

"Just wondering if Mondo is trying to make us go crazy by being quiet for so long."

"Man, who knows with those robots…"

By the time the two teens had finished cleaning Rocky's living area, his mother called them into the kitchen. Rocky wasn't sure what for—dinner wasn't for another hour or two. Given that his mother only ever went into the kitchen to cook, he wondered if maybe she'd come up with something on the fly.

Hobbling on his crutches, Rocky headed into the kitchen with Adam tagging along behind him.

He stopped immediately upon passing through the swinging French doors leading from the living room into the dining room.

His mother was seated at the head of the table, with a very clear look of _We need to talk_ written across her face. Rocky didn't need to guess twice what about, which suddenly made him feel very sick to his stomach. He looked to Adam, who looked even worse for wear.

Her voice was even, calm. "Sit, boys."

Each boy took a seat opposite the other on the longer sides of the rectangular dining room table. Rocky swallowed, but said nothing. What was there to say?

"I think you both know why we're here," Maria stated. When neither teen responded, she continued, "I wanted to wait until you were feeling better, _mijo_, before I brought the topic up. But now is as good a time as any."

Rocky stared at Adam, who returned the gaze momentarily before darting his eyes downward.

It was amazing, he thought, how both of them immediately felt shameful of something that brought them such joy. What made it worse was that Rocky normally would have been full of indignation—_nothing_ could make him think what he was doing was wrong—and yet, in the eyes of his mother, he felt like a five year old child again, preparing to hear her rant in Spanish about what he'd done.

"Boys, what's going on between you two?"

_Great, _Rocky thought. _She's gonna make us lay it out._

He looked at her. What could he even say? There was no lying, no denying possible here. She could see right into him. He shivered; the thought weirded him out.

"We're, um. We're dating," he finally settled upon saying.

"Before you say anything, Mrs. DeSantos," Adam blurted out, "We should have said something, we just—"

Maria held up her hand. Adam hushed immediately.

"You're young, I understand. You two have been friends for a very long time. You're at that age where your bodies are going through a lot of changes."

Rocky tried to control the adrenaline pumping from his fight-or-flight response. He could feel his body starting to tense from anxiety, waiting for a reaction.

"Mom, I—"

"Rocky," she said. "Let me finish. I want you to know that I've been thinking about this for a while now."

_Here it comes_, Rocky said to himself. This would be the point where his mother told him that it needed to stop, that she didn't approve, and that if she caught it happening again, she would do something very harsh. He clenched his fists on top of the table, feeling blood pump through his injured ankle down below. He was beginning to feel lightheaded.

"I don't want to be _that mother_," Maria explained, "so I'm not. However, I need you both to understand where I am coming from. Your sexuality is not the concern here. Your safety, however, is."

Rocky eyed Adam. He was white as a sheet and had his hands nearly digging into one another atop the table. Rocky knew that his boyfriend's mother was very intense and authoritative—she always had been—so it was no surprise to see him react so readily to a voice of authority.

"I need to know that you boys are being _safe_."

Rocky's eyes widened. "_Mom_!"

"What?" She regarded them both. "It's a legitimate concern!"

"We're being _safe_!" Rocky exclaimed. He felt his cheeks redden, felt a flush course through his body. How embarrassing this was! "We haven't even—_God_, Mom, really?"

Maria's expression grew immediately relieved. "_Ay, Dios_, thank the lord. I had hoped not. That's why I got these." She reached into her bag and pulled out a very colorful box.

"_Did you buy condoms_!" Rocky nearly screeched.

"For your safety!"

"Thank you, Mrs. DeSantos," Adam said, though it was clear he was pushing the words out of his mouth. He, too, was flush red with embarrassment.

This was terrifying. Rocky had gone in expecting that his mother would be completely against it, and here he was, with her offering condoms to him. This couldn't have gone more differently, or with more _terror._

Rocky snatched the box from his mother and quickly moved it to the other end of the table. He didn't want to see them.

"I know you've had your sex education course, _mijo_, but I don't know if they covered two boys being intimate, so I—"

"Mother, _please_, no more. _No mas_."

Rocky watched Adam's ears perk up. He rarely spoke Spanish, but he knew enough to make his mom pay attention.

"You're gonna give one of us a heart attack."

Maria shook her head. Though she had an amused smile on her face, she quickly turned serious, reaching out from her spot at the table to grip each of the boy's hands. Rocky watched Adam, wondering if his boyfriend was going to explode from embarrassment. Rocky was nearly there; this was beyond the embarrassment meter for his mother. Grateful though he was for her concern, it was just…_weird_.

"Boys, your life is _your_ life. My job is to make sure you're safe. If you ever have any questions—"

"Mom—"

"—Or you need anything—"

"_Mom_—"

"Just let me know, all right?"

Rocky swallowed. He needed to keep a calm head about this and focus on the _good_ part, and not the humiliating part. He squeezed his mother's hand graciously.

"Thank you," he said, with Adam repeating the same almost immediately afterward.

"Are you gonna, you know, tell my m-mom and dad?" Adam asked in concern.

"No, Adam. I thought on it but that is yours to tell, not mine. But don't hide it from your mother for long. She loves you and wants you happy. Your father, too."

The conversation now at a close, Rocky pulled back and rubbed the back of his neck. "Mom, can we go n—"

At that moment, both his and Adam's communicator's beeped.

They looked at one another. While it couldn't have been more perfectly timed, Rocky was suddenly smacked in the face with the realization that he couldn't leave. Not with his mom in the same house…she'd notice he was missing, without a doubt.

Adam, however, knew he could leave. He stood faster than Rocky had ever seen him do, thanked Maria and excused himself due to an 'emergency'.

"See you later, Rocky," he said before heading out to the living room to retrieve his book bag. He was out the front door within a minute, and most assuredly was on his way to the Power Chamber right after.

Rocky felt a twinge of envy stir within him. He was stuck here, unable to offer assistance on a whim. He hoped Adam would explain to Zordon why he wasn't able to make it. And he hoped Adam came back and told him what happened.

He turned his attention back to his mother. "Can I go now?"

Maria chuckled. "Yes, you can. I need to go pick up your sisters from school, anyway. Your brother should be home in a few minutes. Try not to kill each other over the television, okay? He's been waiting patiently to play his game for two weeks now."

"Yeah, yeah…"

Rocky stared directly through the swinging French doors into the living room, his eyes fixated on the large window that ran along the front of the house.

He hoped that, whatever was going on, the rangers could handle it without him.


	6. Car Troubles

**Author's Notes: Howdy y'all! Here's chapter six. And as an added bonus, I will be posting chapter seven right after this! I am toying with the idea of posting two chapters at a time since I still have the entire third piece of the trilogy to post. What do you guys think? **

**Ghostwriter: Yeah, I wanted to go the embarrassing route because I felt like they could use it. I'm a torturer, what can I say?**

**Hackthecatboy: Yay full commentary! :) You'll get answers to the musings you posted throughout other chapters!**

**Enjoy, everybody!**

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><p>Adam twisted in the air as two Cogs lifted him up and threw him out of their way. He hit the ground with a grunt, scrambling to get to his feet.<p>

"They want Rocky's car! Stop them!"

Kat, Tanya and Tommy all fought their way through the numerous Cogs, which kept multiplying. Each time Adam managed to take one down, two more seemed to grow in its place. He fought against their strong grips and their menacing attacks, but he was wearing down. He wasn't going to be able to handle this for much longer.

Three Cogs began fidgeting around Rocky's car. Adam yelled out to stop them and was met with a fist to his helmet. For a moment he saw stars, but the moment his focus returned he broke free from their grip, knocking a Cog off Tommy's back along his way toward the vehicle.

"Oh, no you don't!" he shouted, making a dive for one of the Cogs. However, it jumped out of the way just in time, giving what could only be described as a strange, mechanic chuckle. The Cog quickly alerted its cohorts to something on the car—something Adam couldn't see—but that apparently, they were absolutely fascinated with.

Tanya managed to take one of them down, but it wasn't enough. The remaining Cogs ripped open a portal and took Rocky's car right along with them.

"Damn it!" Adam growled.

"Oh no!" Kat said.

Irritated and defeated, Adam, along with his fellow Power Rangers, returned to the Power Chamber to discuss what happened. This time, however, Adam made sure that he contacted the one person missing: Rocky.

It took a moment for the other to reply, but soon Rocky's voice came through the communicator. "This is Rocky, what's up?"

"Rocky, it's Adam. Can you come to the Power Chamber?"

"I can try…gimme a minute."

"No, no, don't try to teleport." He turned to Alpha. "Alpha, can you do it for him?"

Alpha said, "Locking on coordinates now. He should be on his way!"

Rocky appeared upon the work bench near the display of their old power suits. It was easy to tell from the anticipatory look on his face that he had been waiting for some kind of communication. Adam just wished it was better news than what they had.

"Cogs stole your car," he told him.

"What? No!" Rocky's face fell. "It still hasn't even been repaired yet!"

"Hasn't it been at the shop for, like, two weeks?" Tanya asked.

"That's exactly it!" Rocky replied. "It was up to be fixed this week, when my dad could afford it…damn it!"

"We tried to fight them but there were just too many," Kat explained. She looked visibly upset. "Sorry, Rocky."

The Blue Ranger shook his head. "Sorry, guys, it's not your fault. You did what you could. I'm just…it's been one of those days."

Didn't Adam know that. His cheeks flushed at the memory of not but thirty minutes previous.

"But, hey, good news!" Tanya said, pointing at Rocky's leg. "Your cast changed!"

"Oh! Oh yeah! I'll be back in school on Monday. Last weekend of freedom before heading back."

"It is good to see you again, Rocky," Zordon said from his power tube.

Rocky smiled. "You too, Zordon!"

"Undoubtedly we have uncovered a sinister plot involving your car and the Machine Empire."

"I guess so. At least I was right about them possessing it in the first place."

Adam turned and looked at Zordon, putting his helmet on one of the many control panels. "So we know they were the ones who caused his injuries…do you think they're gonna try and do that with the rest of us?"

"It is unknown at this point," Zordon explained. "However, I would err on the side of caution and be careful using your vehicles. We do not know what they have planned."

Just then, the warning alarm against the wall began spinning and wailing. Alpha screamed, "Ay-yi-yi-yi-yi!" and adjusted the viewing globe to show the disturbance. A monster looking an odd cross between a vehicle and a metallic Hyena was terrorizing individuals at what looked to be an outdoor car show.

An outdoor car show in early winter.

_Only in California_, Adam thought.

"My car!"

Rocky moved to stand but cried out in surprise when his foot didn't quite hold his weight. He nearly fell to the ground, but Kat managed to catch him and help him back onto the bench. Without his crutches, he was relatively helpless.

Adam looked to Tommy. "Should we go after it? Just the four of us?"

"We don't have a choice, do we?" Tommy replied.

"You guys can't go alone!" Rocky said. "Mondo's monsters are way strong. Let me just—"

His Zeonizers materialized on his wrists, but Kat stopped him by gripping on to them.

"Rocky, you can't, your ankle!"

"You guys won't last without me," Rocky said. "And I don't mean that in an ego-boosting way; I'm just saying! We're strongest when we're together!"

Adam wondered where this sudden urge to fight had come from. Rocky had seemed all too ready to take a break with the sudden disappearance of activity, but right here and now he was acting like he hadn't fought in years.

"It is unsafe for you to fight, Rocky," Zordon said.

He continued, "However, there may be another way."

Naturally, all of the rangers looked at Billy, who appeared just as curious as they did.

"Don't look at me," he said. "Zordon, what do you mean?"

Zordon said, "Rocky will not be able to fight until his injury is healed. In the meantime, I recommend temporarily granting his powers to another."

"You mean like a power transfer?" Rocky asked.

"Precisely."

Though it took the others a moment to think on it, Tanya seemed to pick up on the idea immediately. She looked to Billy.

"It's perfect! Billy, you could fight in Rocky's stead until he's better!"

Tommy laughed. "You could pull out the old blue clothes, too."

Billy went wide-eyed. "Zordon, do you think that's a good idea? I don't even know if I could do such a thing. The Zeo Crystal chose Rocky specifically. Won't it malfunction for someone other than him?"

"If Rocky willingly transfers the power to you, then there should be no problem," Zordon explained. "It is a situation similar to what Aisha did with Tanya."

Tanya smiled. "Worked for me!"

"We don't have much of a choice, do we?" Rocky said feebly. He removed his Zeonizers, wavered for just a moment, but then nodded firmly, as if he'd come to terms with the decision. He held them out for Billy to take. "Here, Billy. I offer you my power until I recover from my injury. Do you accept?"

Billy hesitated. He looked at each ranger, as well as Zordon, before he, too, nodded. "I accept, Rocky. Thank you for the opportunity."

Adam knew Billy would be a good substitute while Rocky was gone, but he couldn't help wondering how his boyfriend felt. Had it been him, he would have begrudgingly given them up. Adam liked being a Power Ranger far too much. However, he supposed Rocky had no real choice. It was for the good of the planet.

"You know the drill, right?" Rocky asked, though half-heartedly.

The former Blue Ranger latched on the Zeonizers and did a few tests of hand motions before he nodded. "Let's try this out. Zeo Ranger Three, Blue!"

Billy morphed in a flash of blue light. Standing there before them, now, was Zeo Ranger Three. Adam couldn't help but feel strange seeing both him and Rocky in the same room together.

"It worked!" Billy said. "The power transferred safely."

"Thank you for your brave and kind action, Rocky," Zordon said. "Together, now, King Mondo's monster can be defeated and you can focus on a quick recovery."

Rocky frowned. "Does this mean my car is being demolished?"

"We'll do our best to save it, Rocky," Kat said. She gave him a sympathetic smile. "If we can't, we'll pitch in and find you a new one, all right?"

"Do your best!" Rocky said.

"All right, back to action!" Tommy said.

Adam followed Tommy, Kat, Tanya and Billy to the scene where the monster was. From the looks of it, several cars had already been damaged beyond repair. Tommy seemed the most upset by this, given the string of frustrated words and sounds that left him. The team split into two groups to find the source of the destruction. Adam, paired with Tanya, headed toward the tents on the far right side of the fairgrounds. They were definitely going in the right direction, as from each hidden crevice and crook popped a Cog, ready to fight them. They fought their way through thanks to their Zeo Pistols and Zeo Swords, but came to a dead end. The monster wasn't there.

From in the distance came the strangled cry of Kat. Adam and Tanya looked at each other and then darted in its direction. Sure enough, the others had run into the monster.

It was even uglier in person. Like most monsters of the Machine Empire, it was heavily mechanical, with a bronze shimmer to it. The beast looked like an oversized hyena that had half-way morphed into a car: its hands and feet were tires, and its chest looked like a deformed carriage. It had a grating voice, like tires squealing on pavement.

"Rangers! You've come to the car show, excellent! Let me show you just how easy it is to flatten you all on the ground!"

"I don't think so!" Adam shouted. He pointed his Zeo Sword at the thing. "You're nothing more than a possessed car, and we're gonna take you down!"

"Good luck trying to catch me!"

Before Adam could blink, the hyena-car hybrid was right next to him, knocking him to the ground. He somehow managed to roll out of the way in time to miss being run over, but the sheer force against his chest made him sick.

As he gathered himself he heard his teammates combating the monster. Adam managed to shoot it from behind with his pistol, causing it to veer off course from squishing Billy. It collided with a Chevy Impala, shattering the entire driver's side into crumbling pieces.

All five rangers encircled the monster, their weapons at the ready. It cowered in fear, but something soon landed on it. They all recognized it by now: Orbus, otherwise known as that obnoxious robot that made monsters grow.

Tommy yelled, "Fall back!"

He and the others jumped back just in time for the monster to grow gargantuan in size. It cackled deviously and looked down at them with an insidious stare.

"We need Zeo Zord power, now!" all five shouted in unison.

From the distant mountains came their legendary zords. Each ranger teleported into their respective cockpit, preparing themselves for battle.

"This is absolutely amazing!" Billy called through their communication devices. "I've wondered what the interior was like. I'm glad I get to finally see."

"You built these!" Tommy said. "You mean to tell me you didn't see the inside?"

"Not all of them!" Billy replied with a laugh. "I had Alpha's help!"

The monster wasted no time in attacking the moment a Zeo Zord was visible. It crashed into Adam's bull, but he kept his hands locked on the gears, refusing to budge.

"Not going anywhere, you creep!" he grunted.

With the flip of a switch and the push of a lever, he head butted the beast back, causing it to stumble upon the ground. Adam watched several blasts from Tanya go around his peripherals and come in direct contact with the monster. He heard her shouts of excitement.

"While he's down!" Tommy said. "Power up to Zeo Megazord, now!"

Adam, Kat, Tanya, Billy, and Tommy all shifted their gears so as to combine their zords together. With each crystal in place on the dashboard, the zords began to take shape and fit together. Within mere moments the five rangers were united together in the cockpit of the Zeo Megazord, with Tommy at the head.

"All right guys, let's finish this monster off! Zeo Megazord Saber!"

From the air manifested a long power blade that Tommy gripped in the hand of the Zeo Megazord. With just the right aim, he managed to slice it right across the monster's chest as it raced toward them. The creature stumbled back and cried out in agony, collapsing back onto an open area of the fairgrounds with a resonating crash. It exploded upon contact, and when the air slowly began to clear, what remained in its place was what looked to be Rocky's car.

"Not so fast are you, huh?" Adam gloated. "That'll teach you to mess with us!"

"That went exceptionally well!" Kat said excitedly. "Even going in without the upper hand, we did it!"

The rangers continued to congratulate themselves as they teleported back to the Power Chamber. There, helmet removed, Adam happily told Rocky about the results.

"I know, babe, I saw it on the viewing globe! My car's still alive!"

Rocky's cheerful reply made Adam feel that much better.

"We need to find a way to get it back to the auto shop without anyone finding out."

"Aye, there's the rub!" Kat came over to Rocky and Adam, giving them a grin. "I've always wanted to say that."

"Got any suggestions?" Rocky asked her. "The fairgrounds are all the way on the other end of the city. I don't know if my car can handle the drive."

"Can't Alpha teleport it back?" Kat asked.

"Oh, right! I completely forgot about that! Alpha!" Rocky turned to face their robotic friend. "Can you please teleport my car to the auto shop so there's no confusion over it disappearing? It'd be terrible if the shop thought it was stolen. My parents would flip!"

"Sure thing, Rocky!" Alpha said. "Teleporting it…now!"

They all watched the screen as the car disappeared from the fairground lot. It was a complete mess thanks to their battle, which made Adam feel just the tiniest bit guilty. He wished that the forces of evil would pick places that weren't as crowded.

"We gotta get you home now," Adam said, nudging Rocky's shoulder. "With your mom watching you like a hawk, she'll be bound to notice you've been gone for so long."

Rocky sighed. "Back to prison I go."

"Not prison, just…house arrest?"

Adam grew embarrassed from Rocky's nonplussed expression. Maybe his answer hadn't been the best. It was the only thing that he could think of at the moment.

"Come on," he said, "Let's head back."


	7. Billy's News

**Author's Notes: As promised, chapter seven, right after! Enjoy!**

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><p>"Ugh. My first day out and about for real and it's back to school. Pretty sure this wasn't how I wanted to spend it."<p>

Rocky hobbled on his crutches into the passenger seat of his car. He'd handed his keys to Adam already, who was currently sitting in the driver's seat.

"Pretty sure you just want to complain," Adam said with a laugh. "First it's, 'I don't know how much longer I can stay in this house!' Now it's, 'I don't wanna go back to school'. Make up your mind."

"Hey, I'm allowed to change opinions, man. Don't box me in."

Rocky was smiling, however. Adam could tell he just wanted to get going. Truth be told, he _had_ been cooped up in the house a lot. Adam knew because he had been there, too, nearly each and every night—and day, on the weekends—keeping him company and keeping him entertained. Those were some good memories overall, he thought contentedly, pulling out from the driveway. Though there was hardly any private time for them, just being with Rocky was enough to make Adam happy. Plus, the rare instances where they _did _have privacy seemed all the more special.

He asked, "Think you're gonna be okay walking around school?"

"Should be okay," Rocky replied. "I've been gone for weeks since this thing broke on me. I'm pretty sure if I fall behind any more, I'll never catch up."

With winter vacation less than two weeks away, Rocky was coming in at the perfect time. Most of the teachers at Angel Grove High School started to slow their lesson plans down since the students' focus quickly began to wane. Review became commonplace, which would help immensely.

Once in the parking lot of the high school, Adam found them a parking spot, turned off the ignition and pocketed the keys. He didn't fail to see Rocky's shocked expression on his face.

"Hey, those are my keys!"

Adam smirked. "Tough luck, mister. You're incapacitated. I'll be doing the driving from here on out. "

He made sure to match his pace to Rocky's once they were out of the car. It was a little jarring at first, as Rocky wasn't used to walking for long periods of time with his crutches. By the time they reached the side entrance to the school he had to stop and take a break in the seated porch area just outside.

"Sorry," he said, looking visibly agitated. "These crutches are a real bitch."

"It's okay, Rock, take all the time you need."

While Adam had really meant that, part of him was getting anxious; they only had so much time to get to their first class of the day, and time was ticking by rather quick. Plus, for the first time in a long time, the weather was dipping around sixty degrees, which was much colder than he was used to. He rubbed his arms in his green long-sleeved shirt.

When Rocky was ready to go again Adam opened the door for him, following in quickly behind. They continued down the busy, crowded hallway. People cast the occasional glance at the two of them, more than likely surprised to finally see Rocky with his cast. The story of what had happened at the winter formal had flown around the school like wildfire. A nasty rumor had started some time ago that Rocky had gotten drunk and driven, but Adam, along with his friends, had managed to more or less quell it.

Of course, Rocky's reappearance would only serve to surge it through the rumor mill again. Adam wasn't looking forward to that in the slightest.

Rocky didn't fail to notice all of the looks. As he and Adam stepped into their History class and took a seat, he whispered to the other, "Jeez, I don't think I've been stared at that much since I got that black eye back in middle school."

Adam frowned. He didn't want to tell him why, but of course, his expression betrayed him.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"It's nothing," Adam lied. "Don't worry about it."

More concerned this time, Rocky said, "Seriously, Adam, what is it?"

"It'ss…just a stupid rumor."

"What rumor?"

"People at the dance…some of them were saying you…got drunk." Adam rubbed his neck. He felt his cheeks warm up. "That _that_ was the reason why you crashed your car."

Rocky blanched. "What? That's such a lie! Why would they say that?"

Adam tried to brush it off. "You know high school, it's all theatrics and dramatics. People will say anything to seem cool. Somebody probably said it as a joke." The expression on Rocky's face hardened, and Adam continued, "I wouldn't take it to heart, man. Me and all the others got the rumors to stop. Only the idiots really believed it. You're a standup guy."

"Yeah, a standup guy with a tarnished reputation."

Adam sighed. Rocky looked sufficiently upset, and the day hadn't even started yet. He knew there wasn't much he could say; when his boyfriend fell into these moods, he was the only one who could pull himself out. Still, Adam had to deal with the moods, so he couldn't help but try to fix it.

"For what it's worth, the people who really matter know otherwise."

Rocky smiled at that, though something in his eyes let Adam know he was still dwelling on it. "Thanks, babe."

Throughout the rest of the day, Rocky remained sufficiently troubled by the rumor that had spread around the school. He did his best to act like he wasn't, but Adam knew. And he, of course, liked to believe that it wasn't a bother, either, and was thankful for their friends keeping Rocky entertained during both lunch and the few classes the pair didn't have together.

When school ended for the day, Adam made sure to meet Rocky outside of his Health and Anatomy class. As he'd expected, the continued usage of the crutches had made Rocky relatively grumpy. He knew just the thing to make him feel better.

"Wanna go to Ernie's for a smoothie? Everyone else will be there!"

Rocky brightened, just as Adam had hoped he would. "Ernie's? Yes! For the love of God, yes, please. Let's go!"

Though they would typically walk there, Adam drove them the short distance to Ernie's in order to help alleviate Rocky's pain. He'd moved a lot more in the last day than he had really in the last few weeks, and although he'd taken his pain medication to help keep it under control, it was obvious from the occasional winces and grimaces that he was having trouble.

He hopped out of the car upon their arrival, walking into the Youth Center with Rocky hobbling along beside him. Rocky went right for one of the tables and took a seat, stretching out his legs with a low groan. Adam sat down beside him and was about to flag over Ernie when he saw the jovial owner already making his way over.

"Rocky, long time no see! Look at that cast! What can I get you, stranger?"

"Anything's fine, Ernie," Rocky said with a grin. "It's so good to get out of the house, seriously!"

"He lives!"

They heard Tommy's voice before they saw him. He, along with Kat, Tanya and Billy came wandering in to the juice bar, taking their seats around the table. Tanya sat down next to Adam, who was next to Rocky—the other three sat across from them, all with smiles on their faces.

"It's so weird seeing you wobble around on those things," Tommy said. "How much longer do you have to go?"

"Doctor said anywhere from three to five weeks," Rocky said, sighing. "But at least I walk around outside now."

"Did you really have to wait so long to do it in the first place?" Billy inquired with a raised eyebrow. "Was it that bad of a fracture?"

"No…" Rocky shifted in his seat. "I just didn't want to risk it. I walked around my house, but…"

Tanya and Kat shot Billy a look, as did Adam. While it was a legitimate question, it wasn't exactly the right one to ask. Rocky had been worried about his ankle—they all were. If he pushed himself too hard, then there would be no way for him to recover properly, which could mean his end as a Power Ranger. Rocky had already mentioned to Adam once before that he feared that might happen. Now he was probably thinking about it all over again.

But Billy didn't know, so Adam dropped it. He hadn't asked the question to be rude, after all. He was concerned about his friend's well-being.

When Ernie came with their drink orders, he distributed them among the teens, asking, "So, are you guys getting geared up for winter vacation? Just a few weeks left!"

Everybody shared their plans: Kat and Tanya were going to volunteer at the hospital; Tommy intended to work with some kids at the Youth Center; Adam's plans involved preparing for a new Kung Fu tournament that would be taking place in about two months. Even Rocky had made plans involving a a daily walk and workout to get himself back up and running.

That left Billy, who was strangely silent.

"What about you, Billy?" Ernie asked.

"I, uh…well."

Billy shifted in his seat, an uncertain expression etched into his face.

"Uh oh," Tanya said, smiling. "New invention?"

"Not quite," Billy replied. He scratched behind his ear. "I actually got called into Principal Caplan's office today."

"What?" Adam blinked. "Did you get in trouble, or something?"

"No. But he told me that I've accrued so much extracurricular credit that I…" Billy sighed. "I have to graduate early. I've met all the requirements. He's not letting me take any more lessons."

There was a general consensus around the table that the news was both unexpected and surprising. If anybody, however, could accumulate so many extra credits, it would be Billy. The sudden realization that he wouldn't be in their classes after winter break was shocking.

"You can't graduate early," Rocky said. "What am I gonna do without you in our math class?"

"Congratulations, Billy!" Ernie said.

Billy chuckled. "Thanks. And you'll be just fine, man. I'll still help you. I just won't actually be in the class to do it."

Tommy smiled genuinely. He tapped the table. "Well, that's awesome, Billy. What're you gonna do after you graduate?"

For the first time in a while, Billy looked distinctly uncomfortable. He shrugged his shoulders. "To be honest with you, I…really don't know. I didn't think it would happen this fast. I also didn't think things would change so quickly." When Ernie disappeared back to his counter, Billy added, "I also didn't think I'd be a Power Ranger again."

"Well, only for a while," Rocky said hopefully. "You deserve a good rest. Thanks, though, for filling in for me."

"I guess I could always go to college," Billy mused. "I didn't think it would be possible with ranger duties, and I hadn't really filled anything out paperwork wise."

"I really think Alpha and Zordon could use your help more in the Power Chamber," Tanya said. "You're always coming up with solutions to problems, which helps them focus on other things, you know? Think of all the good you could do there."

"Tanya's right," Kat said. "Although continuing school would be a great option, too, if you really wanted it."

Billy nodded. "Affirmative. There are a lot of options to think on and consider. I guess I'll talk them over with my parents, Alpha and Zordon and see what we come up with…"


	8. Afternoon Delight

**Author's Notes: Work is getting the best of me here...agh. Two weeks and no post? Terrible! So in return, here are two chapters in unison, chapters 8 and 9. Please enjoy everybody! By the way, this specific chapter has some adult sexual themes going on in it. In other words, Adam/Rocky sessins, yay!**

**Hackthecatboy: Well...it'll happen. I just can't say when. ;) And what's your story about? I'd love to see it, I may read it on my work breaks!**

**Ghostwriter: It actually was part of the plot of the show, so I just felt like putting it in there as a good plot device, hahaha. **

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><p>For the sake of quiet privacy, instead of returning to Rocky's home that afternoon, Adam drove them to his house. He knew that both his parents would still be at work until the evening, which meant that they could do whatever they liked until the clock struck six. Most teenagers dreamed for a life like Adam's, with minimal parental supervision, no siblings and a nice sized bedroom, but because that was the life he was accustomed to, he felt no real excitement in it.<p>

Rocky liked to remind him how lucky he was that he had the entire back portion of the house to himself. Adam's house was unique in that his living space was added on after the house had been built. The previous owners of the property had built it for their daughter as a graduation present from high school. It had been designed to help her live at home and save money while she attended community college. The space included a small living area, a bathroom and a bedroom. It was by no means large, but it was private enough, including a lock on the door between it and the main household. It had been given to Adam when he began the ninth grade, as his parents considered him responsible and trust-worthy enough to have earned that amount of privacy. It had previously been used as a guest living space when Adam's grandparents and other family members came to visit.

In the years that he had lived in the space, he had decorated it to his liking. Posters of bands and movies that he enjoyed were plastered all about, along with pictures of him, friends and family. He even had his own small couch, coffee table and television in the living area. In his room was his bed, his desk and dresser, along with numerous trophies and plaques from his physical achievements over the years.

When they went inside the house, Adam quickly locked the door behind them and headed for his living space. Rocky did as well, although considerably slower.

"How's your ankle treating you?" he asked.

"I need to get off these crutches for a long while. My armpits and shoulders are killing me."

Rocky, upon entering the space, set his crutches against the wall by the door and hopped over toward the couch. He sat down upon it and gave a loud groan of relief.

"That bad, huh?"

"You have no idea."

As Rocky lay there on the couch, Adam found himself staring. He hadn't realized it at first, but this was truly the only moment of privacy they had managed to get since Rocky had broken his ankle. Not once since then had his boyfriend come over here, for fear of moving around too much. Adam had understood and had gone along with it.

But this—this was nice. Just the two of them, without fear of anyone interrupting for at least another hour or so.

"Is it bad that I just wanna sleep?" Rocky asked.

"Yes. Very bad." Adam grinned, moving to take a seat on the couch. "This is the first private moment we've had in weeks and you wanna sleep?"

Rocky raised an eyebrow. He slowly began to smirk. "What did _you_ have in mind?"

"Nothing too serious," the Green Ranger replied, though he edged himself closer to Rocky so that he could lean down and give him a slow, loving kiss. It was the first time he'd really been able to _enjoy_ one, seeing as neither boy felt particularly comfortable kissing with the presence of Rocky's mother in the background. He brought his hand up and palmed Rocky's chest, finally pulling back. He winked.

"You're gonna kiss me like that and not expect me to want to do more? You're more of a tease than I thought you were."

"Nah…that's not my angle. Maybe when your ankle is doing better."

"Uh-uh."

Rocky gripped hold of Adam's wrist, moving it from his own chest down his stomach and toward his groin. Adam was surprised to feel how aroused his boyfriend was from just a kiss.

Then again, it _had_ been a while.

The brunette gave his boyfriend a lascivious look.

Adam hesitated.

"You know you want to."

It was true. He did. He'd wanted to for over a week now, but had been biding his urges since Rocky was still recovering.

"Come on. Who knows when we can again?"

"Isn't it going to hurt your ankle?"

"We don't have to get crazy about it, Adam. Hell, I think if you just stroked it, I'd lose it in a few minutes. I just…_nngh_." He cupped the other's hand around his groin again, rolling his hips into the touch. "Please?"

With his own arousal now stirring in his pants, there was really no way to say no. Adam generally had very good self-control, but when it came to Rocky, it seemed to all but fly out the window. With an almost coy grin he looked down at the other's jeans, making quick work of his belt and unbuttoning his pants. He, along with Rocky's help, pulled his pants and briefs down just far enough to reveal his erection, which had been straining against the fabric.

When Adam gripped hold of it he watched Rocky's entire body stiffen. The look on his boyfriend's face was priceless.

"Y-Yeah…definitely think it's, um, gonna happen fast," he confirmed.

Adam slowly began to stroke, feeling the length pulse occasionally in his hand. The sight of Rocky squirming slightly in his spot was making Adam's own arousal continue to grow, pressing against the unyielding denim of his jeans. He used his other hand to shift it to alleviate the discomfort.

"God, Adam, yes, please," Rocky breathed, his hands curling into fists and relaxing, right over his heart. After a moment he slowly lifted up the hem of his shirt, massaging his stomach and his chest. He laid his head back and closed his eyes.

"I don't think I'll ever get how someone can harden so quickly," Adam teased, rubbing his thumb over the tip of the head. He rolled his palm over the tip as well, watching Rocky jerk.

"F-Fuck, Adam!"

Rocky wasn't lying when he said it would happen quickly. The Asian boy stroked him for maybe a minute or two more, giving an occasional lick from the tip of his tongue, when he felt the tell-tale throbbing that came just before Rocky released. He looked at the flush over his lover's cheeks and chest, saw his muscles in his stomach tighten, and before he knew it, it was coming. Rocky rolled his hips and groaned, low and deep. He spurted out onto his lower stomach, some dribbling down his head over Adam's fingers. The younger one continued to stroke him throughout, causing visible shudders to course through Rocky's body.

Once he was done Adam pulled his hand away and reached for a Kleenex from a box on the coffee table. He wiped his fingers clean, grunted as he shifted his own erection again. He looked at Rocky.

"Oh…Adam…"

It took Rocky a minute to collect himself. He reached for a Kleenex, too, wiping himself clean of his own mess. He grabbed another Kleenex to wrap the gunk in, and he tossed it into the waste basket just beside the coffee table. When he sat up, his face wore an undeniable grin.

"You weren't lying when you said it would be fast," Adam said, chuckling.

"It's been way too long," Rocky replied. "I…_God_, that felt good."

Adam leaned in to give Rocky a quick kiss, but suddenly found himself involved in something much deeper. The brunette placed both of his hands where Adam's neck met his collarbone, pulling him down for a long, intimate kiss. Kissing had always been one of the easiest ways to turn him on, and Rocky knew that. Adam shouldn't have been surprised by Rocky's intent to reciprocate.

As he kissed him, Rocky slowly lowered one of his hands and ghosted it over Adam's chest and stomach. He stopped on his groin, and with a few fumbling attempts, managed to undo the zipper and button so he could reach into the fabric within. They kissed all the while, and Adam helped to pull his pants down, getting them all the way down to his ankles. He kicked off his shoes and worked his pants off completely, leaving him bare from the waist down.

Rocky's hand trailed over Adam's arousal and his balls, sending a tantalizing thrill up his spine. The younger boy groaned into the kiss, but soon found it broken. Rocky nudged his nose toward his jaw line, kissing along the smooth skin until he came upon the nape of Adam's neck. Warm breath washed over his skin, causing it to tighten from the tickling sensation. He gave a breathy laugh, but made no move to stop it. He loved when Rocky teased him like this.

"Nngh, Rocky, don't stop," he murmured. He'd closed his eyes some time ago, heightening every single electrifying touch. He felt fingers wrapping around his erection again, jerking it, making his stomach clench. It wouldn't take long for him, either, but he didn't care. It felt so good.

"Adam…so smooth…warm…"

Rocky's tongue ran across Adam's collarbone, his lips ghosted over his neck and chest. The things that the brunette could do with his mouth were amazing—Adam never ceased to be surprised.

But what caught his attention the most was the sudden rough pinching of his hardened nipple. How had he missed Rocky's hand going under his shirt? The Asian boy cried out in surprise, finding an overwhelming blast of pleasure sent through his nerves. Coupled with Rocky's stroking, the consistent stimulation to his chest made Adam succumb quickly to his orgasm. He bucked his hips and spurt his come upon Rocky's bared upper stomach, gripping the couch firmly to keep himself from slipping onto the floor. It coursed through him in several waves, all dispersing through the tip of his arousal. Adam hadn't felt anything quite that intense in quite some time; his vision almost seemed to give out on him, but then he realized he just had his eyes clenched shut.

His heart racing and his brow beaded with a sudden sheen of sweat, Adam all but collapsed beside Rocky, unable to keep himself lifted up. He looked at his boyfriend and almost blushed at the completely carnal look in his eyes. Rocky was a very physical being. Not that Adam wasn't; however, there was definitely something the other got from their intimacy that he didn't.

Rocky this time was the one to clean up Adam's juices. He grabbed a Kleenex and swiped it over his upper stomach, giving his boyfriend a grin.

"See? We can still have intimate moments, even with this boot on my foot."

Adam laughed. "Good to know. I was clearly very worried."

"Question is…will I be able to get up and leave after this? I think I just exhausted all of my energy."

"Is that your not-so-subtle way of asking to stay the night?"

Rocky batted his eyelashes.

"Pretty please?"


	9. Wiped Out

**Author's Notes: And chapter nine! Enjoy!**

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><p>"My darling, it would seem that those two Power Rangers are <em>awfully<em> close. It's almost despicable, really! Especially considering all the hard work you put in to injuring the blue one!"

Machina was right. Mondo _had_ put quite a bit of work into ensuring the downfall of the Blue Ranger, and knowing that his monster had been so easily defeated had only set him ablaze with anger. He had been silently stewing for some time now, not entirely sure which would be the best approach for what he wanted to do.

With the replacement Blue Ranger they had fabricated, the question became this: how did he use that to his advantage?

"Perhaps it would be best if you simply overwhelmed the rangers with an immeasurable amount of Cog fighters each and every day?" Machina suggested.

"Good point, dear queen, but how else?" he mused curiously. His goal with the injury had originally only been to incapacitate, however given her mention of the proximity between the two rangers, perhaps it was truly best to overwhelm them so that the original Blue Ranger remained isolated from his peers. If they were constantly battling with evil forces then there would be no way for them to truly spend time together.

Mondo laughed. "Aha! That is it! With him not being able to participate in the battles, and without his fellow rangers around for support, there is no way the Blue Ranger will last. He'll turn on his friends and won't want to become a ranger again! We'll finally be able to destroy them once and for all! Oh, Machina, quite brilliant!"

"It was a good idea, if I do say so, myself," she said, stroking her own ego.

"I just know the rangers will be so excited to see their good old friends, the Cogs. Get ready, rangers, you'll be seeing plenty of them!"

. . . . .

"Billy, look out!"

Adam's call was too late. A pair of Cogs teamed up and grabbed his arms on either side, tossing him up into the air. He flew directly into a nearby awning and landed with a terrible crash.

The other rangers remained tied up with a significant amount of Cogs. They had appeared out of nowhere, though none of them seemed to be protecting anything important. No monster had shown up yet, either, which in itself was strange and disturbing. They usually appeared by now, given how long they were fighting…

Exhausted, but nonetheless unable to stop, Adam pulled out his Zeo Hatchets, chopping his way through several Cogs. They fell, but in their place seemed to appear even more. Why were there so _many_?

"It doesn't make any sense, where are they all coming from?" Tanya cried out. She knocked a Cog over and kicked it hard in the stomach.

"What are they even here for?" Kat asked as she struggled to break free from one of their grasps.

Tommy, using his Zeo Sword, hacked and sliced his way through a number of Cogs and even took down the one that was holding on to Kat so tightly. That seemed to do them in, as the Cogs quickly disappeared shortly thereafter, leaving behind a group of incredibly tired rangers.

"What do you think they were trying to do here?" Kat repeated. "It's the middle of nowhere. I'd have thought King Mondo or Sprocket were here, the way these Cogs were acting…"

"There could be something nearby that they're guarding," Tommy mused. He looked around them, but couldn't seem to come up with a direction to follow.

Adam leaned against a wall to take in a few deep breaths. He could normally handle battles just fine, but that had been nearly twenty minutes of nonstop fighting. Cogs weren't soft, either—his fists and feet ached from their metal surfaces, even despite the superhuman boost of his morphing powers. He would definitely bruise up by the end of the night. He wasn't looking forward to that.

With an agitated grunt he pushed himself off of the wall and rejoined his fellow rangers. This was the second fight this week. This, combined with the inordinate amount of work that teachers seemed to be piling on them just before winter break, was enough to make him wish he could just retreat into the darkness of his room and never come out. But then Adam reminded himself that he was letting his weakness talk, and so he refocused his energy on trying to figure out what was going on here.

"Second attack this week with no clear M.O.," he said to his friends. "If I didn't know better, I'd say this was a ruse."

"But for what?" Tanya said. "What is King Mondo trying to do that he doesn't want us to see? Wouldn't Zordon know?"

"King Mondo could be hiding it from Zordon's sensors," Billy explained with a sigh. "Whatever it is, if he's sending this many Cogs, it has to be big."

Adam groaned. "What a time to send them, huh?"

"I guess we have to wait and see what they're doing," Tommy said. "Sucks, but we don't have much of a choice."

_We don't have much of a choice_.

Adam stared up at the sky. He couldn't remember what time it was, but he knew it was late. He'd told his mom and dad he was going to Rocky's house, so he hoped they didn't call to try and find him.

Tommy shook his head. "Let's go home, guys."

. . . . .

Adam was finding it harder and harder to focus. After four consecutive attacks that week, he'd quickly come to expect another. However, to his surprise, nothing happened. In fact, nearly the entire day had gone by without so much as a peep from the Machine Empire. Adam wondered if Mondo, Machina and Sprocket were trying to screw with him. After all, why were there so many Cogs and not a single monster? Why?

"Adam. Hey. _Adam_!"

"Huh?"

"I asked you a question."

Adam rubbed his eyebrows. "Sorry. I'm just…wiped out."

"All the Cog fighting?"

"Yeah. I just can't understand why. It's been eating at me all week."

"I know, but can we focus on this study guide? This stuff is intense."

Rocky's clipped statement made Adam blink. He glanced down at his sheet, upon which he'd written his answers while Rocky finished re-reading the section. Adam didn't have as much trouble with literature as the other seemed to; he wasn't entirely sure why. Rocky was a smart guy. Science and math he understood perfectly, but something about reading comprehension at a critical level seemed to float entirely over his head.

"All right, that's fine." Adam sniffed. He lifted up the sheet and asked, "So what did you put down as your main theme from the short story?"

"That this magic realism stuff is too much," Rocky groaned. "What am I supposed to put? I feel like what we live _is_ magic realism." He paused. "Correction: I feel like what _you_ live is magic realism."

"What _I_ live?"

Rocky furrowed his brow. "Never mind. Why'd they have to give us this crap to do over the break?" He groaned. "Anyway, I put down that it's a far cry from the fiction that most people are used to and if it presents itself as real life, it could be construed as surrealism."

"Surrealism?" Adam shook his head. "Rock, you can't make things simple, can you?"

"I don't know, it's just a bunch of nonsense to me," Rocky said. "What's fantasy, then? Magic realism is what? I don't even know. I will be so glad when I'm done worrying about all of this. There are more important things in the world."

Adam was about to agree when his wrist communicator went off.

"Really?" he said, exasperated. "This late at night?"

"_Again_?"

The sheer disapproval and irritation in Rocky's voice was alarming. And not only did he sound annoyed, he looked just as upset. With Rocky's arms folded over his chest and his eyes momentarily narrowed, Adam felt like _he_ was being blamed for the communicator going off.

Shooting the other his own look of disapproval, Adam clicked on his communicator. Thank God for the privacy of his room.

"Adam here."

Zordon's voice came through the other end. "Adam, you must meet the other rangers outside the Youth Center. Numerous Cogs have surfaced along with a new monster, Fan Boy. He is threatening to destroy the Youth Center with his powerful mega-fan."

"Got it, Zordon."

Adam looked to Rocky and opened his mouth to say something, only to be cut off.

"Just go ahead and go."

Confused, the younger boy blinked. "…Okay. See you when I get back."

"Yeah, see you when you get back."

Why was Rocky being such a jerk all of the sudden, Adam wondered? He hadn't done anything wrong. It wasn't his fault he had duties to attend to.

He got up and off of the couch, disappearing into his bedroom so that he could morph.

"Zeo Ranger Four, Green!"

With his power suit on, he teleported himself to just outside the Youth Center. What little light came from the lampposts surrounding the building showed him an intense scene with his friends actively fighting not only Cogs, but this new monster. It looked almost like someone had put a bug's head, wings, and a pair of arms and legs directly onto a large, circular fan.

_What a reject_, Adam thought.

"Adam!" Tanya said in surprise. "Thank God you're here, watch out for his—!"

Tanya's words fell on deaf ears. Adam barely had time to register that the monster had turned on him before he felt a powerful gust of wind lift him up and off his feet. He was carried across the parking lot and tossed atop an expensive mustang. The weight of his body traveling at such force did incredible damage to the car, but Adam didn't have time to feel guilty about that. Despite the throbbing pain in his shoulders and spine from the impact he had to run all the way back to his friends—back to the action. He retrieved his Zeo Pistol and shot down a few Cogs along the way.

"Every time we try to get near him, he just blows us away!" Billy explained. "It's even strong enough to send back shots from our pistols!"

"King Mondo sends his regards, rangers!" Fan Boy said, his S's dragging on like Z's. "I'll show you what messing with the Machine Empire can do to you all!"

Just when they achieved the upper hand on the Cogs, Fan Boy sent both Tommy and Tanya shooting across the parking lot. Tanya hit a lamppost with an audible grunt while Tommy managed to grab on to a tree branch to keep from flying away.

"If you all don't want to play fair, then maybe I'll just have to take care of you one by one!"

Debris suddenly began jittering around their feet. Cups, bags, paper—any kind of trash or litter on the ground. It soon began to swirl through the air, creating a wind vortex full of detritus. Adam tried shooting things out of it but found his blasts blocked by its increasing velocity.

How could this be?

"What are we supposed to do?" Kat muttered helplessly. "We can't get anywhere near him to stop him!"

Adam looked around. Situated squarely in the back of Fan Boy's torso was a switch that looked like it had the power to turn off that massive fan of his. With the Cogs finally down for good, Adam used this opportunity to sneak around Fan Boy and do his best to flip the switch.

But to his horror, Fan Boy turned around just in time. Adam managed to miss his blast of air by barely an inch. However, this gave Kat and Billy time to see what he had seen. Both of them ran up to the monster and tugged on the switch with all their might. Fan Boy grunted and stumbled away. He attempted to use his fan but to no avail. With his newly created vortex no more than a pile of trash now, he was clearly on the losing side.

"Stupid power brats! How dare you flip my switch! I'll get you for that…next time!"

Fan Boy's body quickly began to spin around until he disappeared completely.

All the rangers regrouped outside the front of the Youth Center. Although Adam was happy to finally have some kind of resolution—there was at least a _monster_ now—he still wondered what in the world was going on. Why would a monster target this place?

"I'm getting tired of these late night attacks," Kat moaned. "I'm beat, guys. I don't know how much longer I can keep going!"

Tommy folded his arms over his chest. "Until we figure out what Mondo's up to, I don't know if we have a choice."

"I wish we could have just defeated his monster now," Adam huffed. He hated feeling so dog tired all the time. This week had been more about paying attention to attacks than it had about schoolwork, which was never a good thing. If Adam had to choose, how was he supposed to go with good grades over the safety of their planet?

"At least there's no school," Billy said. "Right? Let's get home and rest."

"Yeah, for you," Adam said under his breath. He immediately regretted it, because it wasn't like him to snap like that. The lack of good sleep and always being on edge had jarred his normal behavior. Not to mention he'd been snapped at before leaving, which put him in a somewhat indescribable mood.

Louder, and just before teleporting out, he said, "See you guys."


	10. Make Up

**Author's Notes: And heeere are chapters ten and eleven! Lots of crazy emotions abound, as teenagers are apt to have. Christmas fun time, too, between Adam and Tanya, because they warm my heart. Yay!**

**LilDevyl: Oh, the two of them do sit down and talk, eventually...but like any stubborn pair of teenagers, they will take their time in getting there. Hehe. Bear with them! It will happen sooner than you think.**

**Please enjoy and review, everybody! **

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><p>The season was in full swing. Even though there wasn't an inch of snow on the ground, that didn't stop California from celebrating Christmas. Lampposts, awnings, street signs—everywhere you looked was decorated with garland and lights in preparation for the holiday.<p>

Normally Adam loved the Christmas season. However, each and every day, he found himself about ready to collapse. King Mondo's monsters just kept coming. They defeated Fan Boy after a difficult display of power in the mountains, but after him came two more monstrous beings, in the expanse of just a single week.

With Christmas just a couple of days away, Adam willed himself to focus on something else. He needed to do some shopping for his family and friends, and in a move to help keep himself and his spirits uplifted, he went with his close friend, Tanya. The two of them hadn't had a chance recently to spend much time together, at least outside of battling Cogs and evil monsters.

In a lot of ways he felt like he'd grown so close to Tanya because she was very similar to his best friend, Aisha. When Aisha had made her decision to stay in Africa, he couldn't blame her. She was doing it for the greater good. Still, not having her around had taken some getting used to. Adam remembered telling himself that he could either be angry and saddened by his loss of his close friend, or focus on the excitement of having a new one. With someone as affable and sweet as Tanya, it wasn't hard to do the latter. The two had connected almost instantly; in a way, he felt closer to her, because he'd helped her acclimate to Angel Grove, and had also helped her become so strong and secure with her martial arts abilities.

Though on some level it would have been fun to have Rocky here with them, Adam had to admit, it was nice to be able to spend some time not having to weather someone else's bad mood. It seemed like over the last few weeks that Rocky had become increasingly agitated for no reason. Strangely enough, he also chose not to elaborate on why he was so irritable. Adam, not one to push, decided to let it be. He figured a small break would do them some good.

The two rangers currently sat in the food court at the mall, having nearly finished their lunches. Adam was pushing rice around his plate while Tanya fidgeted with a bottle of water.

"So what would you suggest for Kat?" she asked. "I really want to thank her and her family for letting me stay with them. It's been so great."

"I'm sure she'd be happy with whatever you got her," Adam said. "But she really likes swimming, and she's a big fan of animals."

Tanya chuckled. "Great, so I guess I get her some fish. Is that what you're saying?"

"Well, if the shoe fits…"

Adam smiled, though he sincerely doubted buying Katherine a fish would be the right gift for Christmas. He knew Tanya was just joking, but the thought of it was pretty funny.

"Well, you could always get her some stuff for her surfboard," he suggested.

"That's not a bad idea. I'll keep it in mind."

Tanya, too, smiled. "Well, I've got Tommy, Billy, you and Rocky all taken care of, so I'm not worried. Speaking of Rocky, how's he doing? I haven't seen him since…gosh, since maybe a few days ago at the Youth Center?"

"He's…"

Adam didn't really know what to say. He furrowed his brow.

"Uh oh. I know that face. What's the matter? What happened?"

"What? He's just…I don't know." Adam shrugged his shoulders. He took one more small bite of rice from his plate before deciding that he was done with it. He closed up the Styrofoam box and looked at Tanya. "He's been irritable a lot lately. Every time I have to go because of a fight, he gets upset about it. I don't know why—he understands. He used to do it all the time, too."

"That's probably it," Tanya said. "He _used_ to do it. With his foot injured the way he is, he won't be back to being a ranger for at least a little while longer. We've had a lot going on recently and he probably feels frustrated he's not a part of it."

The answer seemed so transparent, so obvious. Why hadn't Adam seen it? What Tanya said made complete sense. Rocky was a social person. He needed to be involved, needed to help out. It probably didn't help that he'd been essentially replaced by Billy without a second thought.

Adam frowned. "I didn't think about it like that. Makes sense, though. I feel bad now."

Tanya squeezed his hand. "Don't feel bad, it's not your fault. You're doing your job. He needs to understand that. Besides, when he returns, he'll be good as new and he'll be happy. In the meantime, hopefully Christmas will brighten his spirits. Right? Have you gotten him anything yet?"

"No. I've been saving him for last. I'm not sure what he'd like."

"Saving him for last?" Tanya laughed. "Oh, you're hopeless. Come on, you have to have something in mind."

Adam stroked his chin. "Rocky's been talking a lot about what he's gonna do after graduating this year. He wants to open up a karate school, but he doesn't really have the money. I'd help get him one but I don't really have any money to offer, either."

"Hmm…what about opening one with him? You could run it at the Youth Center if Ernie helped, couldn't you?"

Tanya made perfect sense yet again. She was so wise; Adam wondered how she just _knew_. Then again, he wondered if perhaps she saw so clearly since she was detached from the day to day with Rocky. The answer seemed so simple. As his father always said: _Sometimes the answer is looking at you right down your nose._

"Great! I'll talk to Ernie today, see what he says…maybe Rocky can start this summer, or something!" Adam smiled widely. "That'd be a great Christmas gift."

"See? There you go."

"Now, just four more people to go. Well, parents not included."

Tanya feigned shock. "You still haven't gotten me a gift yet? Wow, you're late into the game, Adam! Get with it!"

He scoffed playfully. "I can't buy a gift for you when you're here today. I guess I gotta come back later."

"Well, then let's hurry up and get the other people done, chop chop! I'm the most important. Remember that."

Adam laughed. "All right, all right, let's go…"

As he stood up and went to toss his box in the trash, Adam turned around and gave Tanya a smile. He was really glad to know her, especially at that moment. Even though somewhere deep down he still missed Aisha, he knew that he'd made a lifelong friend in Tanya, and wouldn't trade her for the world.

"You coming or not?" he called to her, grinning.

. . . . .

After spending his afternoon shopping with Tanya, Adam returned home in the evening. His father had just finished cooking dinner, and so he sat down with them to eat, though he kept quiet throughout the majority of the meal. As he ate, he listened to his mother and father discuss the minor details of their holiday party they had yet to iron out. This included what time was best—either six or seven—and whether or not to hire a caterer to take care of the food so they could enjoy socializing with their friends.

In truth, Adam wasn't terribly fond of his family's holiday parties. He always felt out of place, given that no kids were allowed. Because of the way his room was, he typically shut and locked the door that led into his living space, allowing his parents to enjoy their time with their friends. They deserved it, after all, given their hard work each and every day.

He wondered briefly if they would take offense to him going elsewhere for the event. Atypical though it was, the idea remained incredibly appealing. Then again, the only place he could really go was Rocky's house. Adam's parents threw their party the night before Christmas Eve, which was a common time for parties around the city.

When his mind went to Rocky, he felt immediately ill at ease. Things between them weren't right—weren't normal. After his talk with Tanya, he knew that they needed to talk about it all, figure it out, or risk causing irreparable damage. Considering it wasn't too late in the evening, he knew it would be best to do it now, when he had the energy and courage to do so.

Just before he excused himself, his mother asked him, "Adam, honey, are you staying for the party?"

"I was actually just thinking about that," he answered.

_So much for getting up and leaving, _he thought.

His dad said, "Your grandma and grandpa will be visiting in time for it this year, remember? They haven't seen you since last year, so I'm sure they'd love to talk to you."

"Won't they be here for Christmas, like always?" he asked.

"Well, yes, but remember also that your aunts, uncles and cousins will be coming over for that dinner. The party will be a great time for you to share with them alone what you're going to be doing once you graduate this year, since you haven't talked to them for a while."

_After you graduate_.

Adam swallowed. He hadn't the faintest idea what he intended to do after graduating from high school. Although college was an option, Adam had no idea what he would study. For the last three years he'd spent a good portion of his spare time fighting evil, not cultivating a future. If only he could tell his parents about that, he thought. How proud they would be of him! But now he had to come up with something with only a couple days to figure it out—something that would satisfy his traditional Korean grandparents _and_ his parents at the same time.

"I guess I can stay," he replied finally, not knowing what excuse would allow him to ditch the party.

"Excellent, honey." His mother smiled at him. "Do you think you could come shopping with me tomorrow to get things for the party?"

"Sure, Mom." He pushed back from the table. "I'm, uh, gonna go over to Rocky's for a little while, but I'll be back."

As Adam headed out of the dining room and through the kitchen, he heard his dad say, "Don't stay out too late!"

He really had no idea how late he'd be out, not now that his head was full of all different kinds of thoughts: his grandparents' visit, his life after school, Rocky's well-being, _his_ well-being…

Not to mention, he still felt incredibly tired. Maybe he _wouldn't _stay out too late.

When he arrived on the doorstep of the DeSantos residence, he was surprised to see Rocky through the bay window in the front already heading in his direction. Adam knocked, and not but a few seconds later the door opened, revealing his boyfriend, sans crutches. Adam looked down at his foot and saw the cast still around his ankle, but also noticed that it floated ever-so-slightly above the ground. Rocky must have been putting all the weight on his other leg.

"Adam, what are you doing here?" he asked.

"Just…in the neighborhood. Can I come in?"

"Yeah, sure, come on in."

Rocky shut the door behind them. "I thought you were out buying presents with Tanya today."

"You didn't think it was gonna take all day, right?" Adam asked. When he saw the expression on Rocky's face change, he shook his head. "I didn't mean it that way, it was a joke. Listen." He glanced around them. "Can we talk?"

"Yeah, I guess. Is it about you-know-what?"

"Yes and no. Look, I'll help you down to your room. We really need to talk about something, all right?"

Rocky didn't disagree. With Adam helping he was able to get down the flight of stairs and down the hallway into his room. Once the bedroom door was closed behind them, Adam walked with Rocky over to the bed, sitting down beside him.

"Look. I know something's been bothering you, and I've been weathering the moods in hopes that I'd figure it out, since you won't tell me." Rocky opened his mouth to say something, but Adam held up his hand. "Hang on, let me finish. I think I've figured it out."

He paused, waiting to gauge Rocky's response. When the other boy simply remained silent, he decided to continue.

"We both know that your ankle being broken has been a big issue for you. And I know above all else, you're probably really frustrated that I've had to bail on you constantly the last few weeks because of all these monster attacks."

"Yeah."

"But there's something more, isn't there?" He paused just long enough to watch Rocky make a face. "You're upset because you're not a part of it."

Rocky's entire demeanor changed in a split second. The attitude dissipated, his features softened, and he parted his lips, furrowing his brow.

"It's not fair," he said.

"So I'm right?"

Adam moved closer to Rocky. He hadn't much touched the other boy recently, given how edgy Rocky had been feeling. Not to mention that on several occasions his touch had been spurned, which led him to grow irritated. Now, however, Rocky seemed to melt into the sensation. Adam wrapped his arm around the other's shoulders and brought his head against his chest.

"You're not being replaced, you know," Adam said quietly.

"Feels like it," Rocky replied. "I never know what's going on unless I get the answer from you, or—or Tanya, or Billy, or whatever. And I haven't seen much of them since winter break started."

"In their defense, you've been real antisocial. Tommy said he stopped by the other day but you only talked with him for about ten minutes before he left."

"He wanted to go out and eat. I don't have any money, and I didn't want him to feel like he had to pay for me, you know? The money we had to pay for this surgery wiped us out, Adam. My family's not rich."

Adam frowned. Money had always been a sensitive topic with Rocky. That was why whenever the idea of his karate school was brought up, he always seemed to grow a little sour.

_How am I supposed to afford renting a dojo when I can't even hold a long-term job to save money up in the first place?_ He'd always say.

"Listen. Your leg's healing great. You're gonna be up and running here in what, two weeks?"

"Something like that," Rocky agreed. "I have a doctor's appointment next week, remember? To see how I'm doing."

Adam nodded. He let Rocky sit up again, but he started running his fingers through the other's hair. As always, the warm smile that he received as thanks let him know it was an undeniably welcome touch.

"I'm not saying don't be mad," Adam explained. "You do whatever you need to do so you can feel better. But remember, when your ankle is fixed, you're gonna get your powers back. They're yours. Billy knows that. He's not gonna keep them."

"I know, I know…"

Rocky sighed. He lay back on his bed, lifting his legs up and draping them behind Adam. "I'm sorry I've been such a pill lately. I don't mean to. Like I said, I just feel…isolated. With you guys always running off to battle Mondo's goons, all I can do is sit back and wait to see what happens. And from what's been going on lately, he's running you all ragged. I feel—I feel helpless, and useless."

Adam made a face. "You are _not_ helpless or useless."

"Yeah, but I feel that way. I'll get over it, I just…you wanted to know how I felt, so I told you."

"Well, those feelings are unwarranted, Rock. Let me tell you: we miss you every day. Once a ranger, always a ranger." Adam smiled. Thinking on that made him think about what else Rocky had said—Mondo _had_ been running them ragged.

With a sigh, he went on to say, "I'm worried Mondo's gonna pull something during Christmas."

"Don't think like that," Rocky replied. "Negative thoughts pull negative energy, remember?"

"Oh, really?" Adam smiled. "Now I know you're back. You're quoting positivity messages at me again."

The brunette reached out and smacked his shoulder. Adam gave a fake wince.

"Ow, hey!"

"Hey, by the way, since you're here…" Rocky sat up. He rubbed his hands together. "What did ya get me for Christmas?"

"Ah-ah. Nope. You're not finding out that easy, man. You're just gonna have to wait until I see you the day after Christmas."

"You're gonna make me wait that long?" Rocky frowned. "No fair."

"All you need to know is that you're gonna love it."

Rocky shifted on the bed so he could push Adam down and climb atop him. Though Adam was caught off guard, he felt no fear. Rocky loomed over him and gave him a kiss, which made him smile.

"Whatever it is, as long as it's from you, I'll love it."

"I'd like to hope so…"

"Ah, no need to hope. You know the truth!"

When Rocky climbed off of him Adam sat up and stared at the bedroom door. He knew he should probably leave soon, seeing as he still had homework to get done, but now that he'd gotten to the root of the problem with Rocky, he didn't want to leave. This was the happiest he'd seen the other in quite some time.

So, instead of doing what he _should_ have done, he did what he _wanted_ to do, and decided to stay.

"My mom and dad are throwing their party again this year," he started to say.

"Uh oh. Is it time to seek refuge at the DeSantos house?"

Adam chuckled. "No, they want me to be there so I can tell my grandparents what I'm going to do at the end of the school year."

"They live in northern California," Rocky said. "You're gonna see them on graduation day, anyway, so why in the world do you have to tell them now?"

"My thoughts exactly. But, my mom and dad want me to actually be there this time for it. And now I have to come up with a good plan for after high school…which I haven't even really considered yet."

Rocky grinned a little deviously. "You should become a monk. They know you love martial arts, it's only fitting."

"A monk? _Really_?"

"Oh, come on, you know I was kidding."

Adam snorted.

"So, do you need your big, strong boyfriend to come to your rescue?" Rocky asked. He puffed out his chest in a mock showing of defense. "I can tell them you're gonna help run my karate school."

"That's it!"

Rocky's idea was perfect. Adam snapped his fingers, ideas forming in his head. If he told his parents he planned to help Rocky create a karate school, it would be respectable enough that they wouldn't push him into something else, and also, he would be able to stay around in Angel Grove long enough to figure out what he _really_ planned to do.

To his surprise, Rocky said, "I'm being serious, you know."

"About the school?"

"Yeah. I really think you'd be the right person to help me run it. You're the perfect teacher: patient, kind, observant. I've seen what you've helped Tanya accomplish in just a few months, man. Think of what you could do with a whole group of students."

He supposed Rocky was right. After all, he had worked very closely with Tanya to make sure she was up and running with her skills so she could fight effectively and efficiently. In just a few months' time it was like she had been fighting for years. The idea of helping kids get to that stage would be a real honorable profession. Plus, working closely with Rocky doing something he loved would make things even better. How could he pass that up?

Adam felt his cheeks turn a soft pink.

"I'd love to help out, Rock."

"And _I_ would love to go to your parents' party. Thank you for the invite."

"Wait. I didn't—"

"Shh. Let's just say you did."

Adam snorted.


	11. Christmas Party

**Author's Notes: And here is chapter eleven! Adam, self conscious as always, makes me smile from ear to ear. And Rocky's sweetness is enough to rot my teeth, but hey, that's how we like it. Enjoy!**

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><p><em>I'm going to look like a fool,<em> Adam thought as he stared at himself in his bathroom mirror. He wore a dark green turtleneck and a pair of black slacks. He'd spent the last half hour taming his wavy black hair, trying to make it behave itself. Though the result was not bad, it certainly wasn't as good as it could have been. Perhaps the most upsetting part about it was that if he asked his mother for help, he was inviting her opinion, and she always told him how he needed to keep it short. His grandmother would tell him the same thing.

He liked it longer.

Shaking that thought from his head, he stepped out of the bathroom and wandered all the way into the kitchen. The party had been going for about twenty minutes now, but Adam had yet to make an appearance. Rocky had agreed to show up by six-thirty, which was very shortly.

He started at the sound of the doorbell ringing. Was that him?

Adam walked out of the kitchen and headed through the hallway toward the front door. His father made it there first, already having opened it to reveal a familiar face.

"Hi, Mr. Park," Rocky said. "I hope I'm not interrupting. Adam invited me to the party tonight."

"Hey, Rocky!" Adam said with a smile. He was surprised to see the other without his crutches. He looked quite handsome in his deep red sweater and khaki pants, complete with his hair styled. When Adam glanced out the door, he could have sworn he saw Rocky's car, too. Had he driven here?

"Hey, dad, I hope it was okay," he added.

Mr. Park nodded. "Oh, it's no problem, Adam. Just don't hole up in your room all night, all right? Spend some time with your grandparents; then you two can do whatever you like. Good to see your ankle is doing better, Rocky!"

"Thanks, Mr. P!"

When Rocky walked in, he managed to do so with only the slightest limp. He had apparently become quite the walking master in just two days' time. Adam watched his dad disappear into the living room where several other guests were already mingling. His grandparents he knew were in the kitchen with his mother, so he figured now was as good a time as any to talk to them.

"Wanna come with me into the kitchen?"

"Sure! I haven't seen your grandparents in years. Think they'll still remember me?"

Adam smirked. "You're hard to forget."

Together, the two boys walked into the large kitchen. Adam's mother and grandmother stood by the stove, carefully extracting a sheet of quiches from the oven. Adam saw his grandfather sneaking bites of vegetables from the rabbit dish sitting on the kitchen island, upon which lay several other plates of small hors d'oeuvres and finger foods.

"Hey, guys," Adam said as he stepped inside. "Mom, Rocky's here. I invited him, Dad said it was okay. Grandma, Grandpa, you remember him, right? From my birthday a few years back?"

"Ah! Yes, I remember. Hello." His grandmother turned around, the wrinkles around her eyes crinkling as she smiled, then frowned. "Adam, why do you not call us _halmeoni, halabeoji_?Have you forgotten your Korean?"

Rocky nudged Adam, who just smiled nervously. His spoken Korean was terrible. He could remember a few phrases—_hello, good bye, I'm sorry _and_ I'm hungry_—but outside of that, it was very little. Neither of his parents spoke Korean with him consistently growing up, choosing instead English, given its benefit where they lived. But as his grandparents had moved to California just prior to having his father, for them, Korean was the natural language of choice.

"_Mianhaeyo_," Adam replied. It was the only version of _I'm sorry_ that he could remember—it probably wasn't polite enough for his grandparents, but he hoped the effort was enough.

Maybe someday he would speak more…

"Did you have a safe drive here?" Adam asked them, moving over to his grandpa and giving him a hug.

"Yes, all was fine," his grandpa said. "Your father is in the living room, yes?"

"Yes, grandpa—"

"_Halabeoji_!" his grandmother insisted.

"He's in the living room. I think he was asking for you."

From the look on his grandfather's face, the invite out of the kitchen was a welcome reprieve. Adam knew that he had only gone in there because his wife had asked him to. As much as he loved his grandfather, it surprised him how he tended to follow his grandmother around without question wherever she went.

"Ah, okay."

Once his grandpa left, Adam took his seat at the kitchen island, helping himself to a slice of celery. Rocky sat next to him but refrained. Adam insisted, handing him a baby carrot.

While his mother worked on plating the quiches, his grandmother came close to the island and placed her hands atop the tiled surface. She gave another warm smile. "How is school, Adam?"

"Great, gra—_er_—great. I've been keeping very busy."

"And you plan to go to more school, right?"

He hesitated. He was sure that his two cousins very close in age to him were going to share their stories on Christmas night about how they had already been accepted into college and were planning on getting their degrees. Adam, meanwhile, was not. He looked from his grandmother to Rocky.

_Time to take the plunge_, he told himself.

"Well, actually, no, I was planning on helping my friend Rocky here set up a martial arts training school for kids."

Visible disappointment was etched everywhere into his grandmother's face. His mother, too, turned and gave him a look. This was the first they had both heard of it, making Adam feel distinctly uncomfortable. He tried to smile, but inside his nerves were beginning to hum.

"You didn't say anything about that, dear," his mother said, looking concerned.

"Well, Rocky was telling me about how he thinks I'd be an excellent teacher, so I want to try my hand at it. You know I've taught my friend Tanya. She's done really well. I think it'd be great."

Adam watched his mother curiously as she placed the quiche plate directly in front of them. "So, no school? What about you, Rocky? Are you planning on going?"

"If we can afford it," Rocky offered lightly, and with a smile.

"That's why I've been telling Adam to start applying for scholarships for months now," his mother said. "It helps save you money, and your parents, too!"

"School is very important!" his grandmother reiterated. "The only way to get ahead as an adult."

"Yeah, yeah…" Adam shook his head.

He'd had about enough of this now. His nerves were sufficiently shot, thanks to their questioning. Now he remembered why he usually chose to avoid these gatherings. It was always a matter of what was going on next, and whether he was doing what they anticipated he would. Never mind that he wanted to help kids learn discipline, focus and the importance of honor. He wasn't going to college to get an impressive degree and become a doctor, pharmacist or professor, so what did they care? As a child he'd loved to impress, loved to see the shining light in their eyes every time he brought home a perfect grade, but now he was really beginning to grow upset with how his decisions never seemed to be _just right_.

"We're gonna go mingle," he said to them, already working on moving out of the seat. He reached for the rabbit dish. "We'll take two of these plates out to the guests."

"Thank you, dear," his mother said.

His grandmother immediately began to speak in Korean, which smarted like a slap across the face. She knew he couldn't speak it. What was she saying to his mother?

As he and Rocky left, dishes in hand, Adam's expression hardened.

They stepped into the living room, delivering both plates on a nearby card table that had been placed out specifically for food. The colorful and seasonal table cover helped to hide the dingy grey color beneath. Adam greeted everyone with a terse hello and endured several moments of painful small talk before he excused both himself and Rocky from the room. Once they were safely inside his living space he nearly slammed the door, turned to lean against it and let out a frustrated groan.

Rocky took a seat on the couch. He scratched the side of his head.

"It's never good enough," Adam said through gritted teeth.

_Or I'm never good enough._

"They didn't seem completely against the idea, babe," Rocky replied with an uplifting tone. He patted the couch seat next to him. "Come on, sit down, relax."

"You don't get it." The young Asian boy moved toward the couch and plopped himself atop it with a grunt. "It's always like that with my grandma. Oh, you don't speak Korean? Oh, you're not going to school? Oh, you aren't a straight-A student? She compares me _constantly_ to my cousins, even if she doesn't _say_ it."

Rocky stroked his fingers lightly over the back of Adam's neck. It helped calm him down a little, but after a few moments it became increasingly agitating. He reached back to stop them. Rocky understood, as his hand then moved to simply rest on the couch.

Adam continued, "And whenever my mom gets around her, or her own mother, she always becomes this…I don't know how to describe it. Suddenly all that matters is how _she_ is reflected in me. Think of like a stage mom, you know? Like it's a competition for her child to be the best. I'm only one of three even close enough to college age, so I guess by not going, I've shamed her."

He couldn't believe how upset he felt over such a small conversation. His heart was racing, his hands were cold, and his face was flushed. He hated it when his emotions got the better of him, so he tried to remain calm, reminding himself of how he kept his focus and center.

"Who cares about what they want?" Rocky asked. "This is _your_ life, Adam. Hell, this is _our_ life. Together. You know?" He cupped Adam's neck and massaged it gently. "You can always go to school. Your parents will be proud of you no matter what you do. You need to just be happy. That's what they want the most."

"Can I tell you something?" Adam asked suddenly.

Rocky nodded. "You can tell me anything, babe. Always."

"It's about your Christmas gift."

"Ooh, even better, then!"

Adam turned to Rocky. He couldn't help but smile. Talking about it with him had really cemented in his head what an excellent idea he had. He had to make sure to thank Tanya again for giving it to him—she'd helped so much.

"So…your Christmas gift was basically going to be me telling you that I spoke to Ernie and agreed to work with him on securing the rec center every day from six to seven for you to start up your karate school."

Rocky blinked. He raised an eyebrow. "Wait, seriously?"

Adam nodded. "Yeah, we talked the other day and he said that he'd be happy to help you get something set up. Since you want me to help, too, I guess we gotta get our butts into gear, huh?"

"Oh, Adam, that's…wow, that's really…that's really something!"

He knew he'd managed to make Rocky speechless, which in itself was a feat. Rocky leapt at him, wrapping his arms around him in a tight, loving embrace. Adam laughed, leaning in and giving him a kiss.

"Merry early Christmas," he said.

"A_ very_ Merry Christmas," Rocky replied, kissing him once more.

. . . . .

Doctor Jones' voice was like music.

"You're free to go, Rocky! Just remember, keep the weight on the lighter side until your ankle has time to fully readjust to taking heavy loads. Don't forget to do the exercises I've shown you and you'll be just fine. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to call me. I'm glad you healed so quickly—but, I'm not surprised. Teens like you have bones that repair like magic. Makes me jealous in my old age…"

Rocky couldn't believe he was finally _free_ of his ankle cast. Sure, it was nearly two months later, but all that mattered now was that his foot could breathe once more. Hell, it just mattered that he could just walk _normally_ again!

When he returned home to his house that afternoon he called over to Adam's house. It was no surprise when Mrs. Park told him that Adam was likely at the Youth Center—he always was.

After giving his mother a kiss goodbye, Rocky hopped into his car and drove to meet up with his boyfriend. Adam was well aware what today was, so why was he here and not at home celebrating with him?

As Rocky entered the Youth Center, he stopped suddenly at the sound of bells and whistles. The entire juice bar had been decorated with a party theme. Across the wall read a sign that said: _Congratulations Rocky!_

The Blue Ranger's eyes scanned the room for the one person he knew was predominantly responsible. There, standing beside Tanya and Kat, was Adam, a coy grin on his face.

"You guys!" Rocky said, unable to keep from grinning, himself.

"Surprise!" Tanya and Kat said together.

"You seriously threw a party for me?"

"This is big news for you, isn't it?" Tanya asked. When Rocky stepped up toward the juice bar she gave him a hug, smiling. "Getting off that cast has been on your mind since day one. We thought we'd celebrate it!"

When Rocky pulled back, he moved close to Adam, hugging him tightly.

"So, this is a _congratulations-for-not-being-incapacitated_ party?" he asked.

"You could say that," Tommy said, laughing.

As dull pain began to course through his ankle, Rocky glanced around for an open seat. He ended up taking one at the small table they typically sat at in the Juice Bar, letting his foot rest against the linoleum floor.

"It's so good to not have that big old boot on my foot anymore," Rocky said with a relieved sigh. "It's like Christmas all over again."

"Has anybody told you you're dramatic?" Kat asked with a playful look on her face. She took a seat next to Rocky and patted him on the back. "Never a dull moment with you, that's for sure."

Adam sat across from the two of them, a red cup in his hand. "I told everyone how excited you were about today. Tanya and Kat thought it'd be good to have a party for you. You know, since this is really your first injury." He smiled some. "It only took a day or two to get everything together. They worked real quick."

"We're very glad you're back up and running," Billy said as he took a seat. "We can go to the Power Chamber later so you can take back what's rightfully yours, how's that sound?"

Rocky couldn't help but feel a deep sense of heartfelt graciousness for each of his friends at that moment. Sure, it was probably a little strange in the eyes of others to throw a party for something as simple as a broken ankle healing, but nobody knew what that meant for him. Nobody knew that he could now return to his life as a ranger—that he could begin his future goal of running a karate school right here in the Youth Center, with the guy he loved at his side.

_Love_.

Rocky quieted at the thought. He'd never used the 'L' word in regards to Adam before. Were they ready for that? It seemed like such a big deal. And on some level, he always thought it would hit him the same way it always seemed to hit the movie stars in film—in that perfect, yet just slightly improbable way. Now, here he sat, thinking about how the word had come into his mind so freely.

He looked at Adam. When a sudden bout of shyness took him over, he glanced away, unable to keep from grinning. What was that word his mother used to joke about with him? Being twitterpated?

_God_, what was he even thinking? His mind was turning to mush. He needed to sit on this a little bit more. Maybe he was just overwhelmed with gratitude and it had thrown his mind for a loop.

"So did Adam tell you what he got me for Christmas?" he blurted out, trying to remedy the current embarrassment rumbling around in his head.

Kat shook her head. "No, tell us!"

"Oh, it's great…"

Rocky couldn't wait to tell his friends all about the idea.

With Adam by his side, he felt like he could really accomplish anything.


	12. Machinations

**Author's Notes: Hey all! Shorter chapter than usual, but I like cliffhangers. Mwahahaha. Normally I would post two chapters at once but I'm gonna let this one marinade for a while since retail life is kind of killing me. Let me know what you think! :)**

* * *

><p>"Oh, my darling King, he's fully healed, and there's not a single thing we can do!"<p>

King Mondo shook his head and chuckled deviously. "Oh, my queen, there are plenty of things we can do with this human! He is not fully healed by any means. That is the weakness of these beings: no matter what the break, it cannot be fully repaired! We are truly superior!"

Prince Sprocket jumped several times to peek over the banister that overlooked the Earth. "So what are you gonna do with him, Dad? Huh?"

"I've been thinking that the only way we are going to beat these Power Prats is by using their own powers against them. The Zeo Crystal as a whole could not be touched by evil, but when broken into pieces as it has been, I don't see why we can't manipulate it into working for us! It can simultaneously power up our empire and drain this Blue Ranger of his abilities!"

"How positively monstrous!" Machina said, laughing in pleasure. "Might I be in charge of the kidnapping of the ranger, my dear?"

"I don't see why not," Mondo replied airily. "Let me know when you manage to safely abduct him, my queen. In the meantime, I will be working with Klank to figure out how we can harness the power of the Zeo Crystal!"

As he took his leave, Machina whipped out her fan and stared over the edge of the railing.

What a beautiful plan this would be…

. . . . .

Rocky loved living in California. Even in the dead of winter, the weather remained relatively bearable. Not many people could say they were able to drive down the street in at the beginning of January and have their windows down to help get rid of any stuffiness in their vehicle.

Sure, he could have walked to school. But to be safe, he didn't want to risk it. His ankle was finally free of that cast, and still relatively tender. Too much walking or too much weight would make it sore, and then he would have trouble all day long. He learned that the hard way when he chose to go on a walk through the park with Adam after school the other day. No, he was playing on the side of caution just to make sure he was in tip top shape, should Mondo and his goons decide to come out and play.

Rocky came to a stop just outside of Adam's house. He was just about to unbuckle his seatbelt when he felt a sudden weight fill his car. He looked up and around to see what it was, only to be met with the disgusting faces of several cogs.

"Cogs!" he shouted in surprise.

The one who had landed in the passenger seat reached forward with a coiled fist. It hit Rocky square in the jaw. The force knocked him back into the door, temporarily dazed. He reached for his communicator to try and notify Zordon that he was in trouble but he felt his arms being pinned down. When he saw that the Cog behind him had him trapped, he began to panic. He still had his seatbelt on, too, which kept him locked against the seat.

"Help!" he yelled, hoping he'd hit the distress button on his communicator prior to being grappled. It scared him that he didn't know for sure. "Anyone!"

Rocky was torn from his car by the Cogs with such force that his ankle knocked against the door upon his exit. Pain rocketed through his leg and up into his stomach, making him nearly heave. He fought against their grip as best he could, but without his ranger powers he was no match for the sheer strength of the robotic creatures. He did manage to knock one down with a well-aimed kick of his healthy foot, but it wasn't enough. The others quickly had his arms and his legs trapped in their grasp.

The Cog that had hold of his injured ankle used every opportunity to remind him that he was still recovering. He couldn't fight back with the obnoxious waves of agony coursing through him each and every time that damn Cog manhandled him—twisting, squeezing, tugging.

Rocky heard the sound of a door slamming shut nearby. He craned his head to look around, and he saw Adam dropping his bag and running down the pathway toward the street.

"Rocky!"

"Adam—nngh—help!"

"Let's take him back to the moon as instructed," the Cog holding on to his arms said.

Those robotic words terrified Rocky to the point of stilling himself. Take him back to the moon?

This had been _planned_?

"Adam, help, please!" he groaned. He was having difficulty keeping his focus; the endorphins coursing through his body were overwhelming his senses.

He'd just gotten his powers back. He hadn't even had a chance to use them, and now, he wasn't sure he would get that luxury.

Just as Adam reached the street, several more cogs appeared from a portal above, along with Queen Machina. Rocky wasn't sure what she was doing here, but it didn't bode well for him.

"Rocky!" Adam yelled. "Hang on!"

Rocky felt tears of frustration and fear well up in the corners of his eyes. Maybe they were from the pain, too; he couldn't be sure. He was experiencing so much in such a short period of time, who knew what was happening inside of him.

"You think you're going to fight these Cogs all by your lonesome?" Machina said with a haughty laugh.

"Good idea!"

Adam reached for his wrist communicator, only to have Machina throw her fan at him. He winced; his communicator unclipped from his arm and flew across the grass.

"Adam, watch out!" Rocky shouted.

"What are you doing here, Machina?" Adam growled.

"Why, I'm here to take your precious partner!" she said gleefully. "It would have worked out beautifully, if I didn't have to worry about _you_! Cogs, hold him in place so he can watch his friend disappear!"

"You're not taking him anywhere!" Adam said. He pointed at Machina. "It's morphin—agh!"

Rocky watched in horror as the Cogs grabbed Adam's arms and held them tightly in place. He fought against them but to no avail—much like he'd fallen victim to their strength, there was no way to fight Cogs safely when demorphed.

Queen Machina came close to Rocky. The smell of hot, burning oil filled his nostrils, making him even sicker than before. He'd never been this close to one of their adversaries before—he could see the gears in her eyes and mouth. It sent a chill down his spine.

"You're going to prove very useful to the Machine Empire, boy. I hope you're prepared."

"NO!" Adam yelled.

"Say goodbye to your friend, ranger!" Machina crowed. "Next you'll see him, maybe he'll have some beautiful machinery added to his pitifully weak human flesh!"

"Adam!" Rocky exclaimed. "Adam, get the others, stop—"

Rocky felt a sudden sharp pain across his cheek. Machina had smacked him with her fan. The thin metal framing hurt like a son-of-a-bitch.

"See you later, ranger! Cogs, retreat!"

Rocky tried one more time to shout out to Adam, to fight _back_, but it was impossible. As panic began to fully set in, he felt his heart pound and his blood run cold.

As he disappeared into the portal that opened up above them, he prayed that his friends would find him quickly. He could do nothing else.

. . . . .

"Rocky! ROCKY!"

Muscles coiling like springs, Adam released the tension he'd been holding on to since Queen Machina arrived. The Cogs hanging on him lost their grip and flew in opposite directions. It didn't matter, however—they disappeared shortly afterward, following their master, leaving him all alone in the middle of an empty residential street.

Adam was a mess of emotion. He couldn't focus, couldn't see straight. All that he could grasp was the fact that Rocky was _gone_, captured by the Machine Empire.

The first thing he did was reach for his wrist. When he felt no communicator, he remembered that Machina had knocked it off. Where had it gone? He needed to find it.

"Damn it!"

The Green Ranger frantically searched the ground around him. He finally found the communicator near his mother's rosebush. He clicked it on immediately.

"Zordon? Can you read me? Zordon!"

"I read you, Adam," came Zordon's calm voice.

"Rocky's been kidnapped by the Machine Empire. I can't—I can't—"

Adam realized he was having trouble breathing. The shock of what had happened had finally hit him, and did so like a bag of bricks. He tried to take in a few deep breaths.

"Calm down, Adam. I will contact the other rangers. Meet us in the Power Chamber immediately."

Somewhere in the back of his head, Adam felt worried. He was going to miss his classes, which had just started not but a few days ago. With semester finals happening in two weeks, every day counted…

He shook his head. Rocky was infinitely more important.

Adam glanced around. The neighborhood was typically empty by this time of the morning, but he still needed to take precaution. He stood beside the tall shrubs separating his house from the next and clicked the teleport button on his communicator. He disappeared from the ground and reappeared in the Power Chamber.

Inside stood Billy, Tommy, Kat and Tanya. Something about the way the four of them looked at him overwhelmed him. Adam shook his head, let out an anxious laugh and said, "He's gone. Right in front of my eyes. Just like that."

"Oh, Adam…"

Tanya came close to him, wrapping him in a tight hug. He knew it should have felt comforting, securing, but he couldn't think clearly. He closed his eyes.

"How are we going to get him back, Zordon?" Tommy asked. "If he's in the palace, there's no way we can get in undetected!"

"The course ahead of you will be difficult, but we cannot proceed until Alpha and Billy are able to locate a way through Mondo's sensors."

"That could take days!" Adam said. He threw his arms up. He saw Tanya back away slightly, which didn't do him any favors. Was she worried he might lash out? Now he was scaring people. Great. "What are they going to do to him by then?"

Tanya rubbed her friend's arm. "Adam, you're upset, try and calm down. We're going to get Rocky back, don't worry."

This was terrifying. It reminded Adam of when Kimberly had been kidnapped by Zedd and he had blackmailed them into piloting the Shogun Zords. Whenever one of them was captured they were at a considerable disadvantage. And this—this was Rocky, _his _Rocky! Taken on _his_ watch!

Belated anger stirred below the surface, igniting something within him that made him tremble. Adam set his jaw and balled his hands into fists.

"We'll look as quickly as we can, Adam," Billy assured him. "He's our friend, too."

"In the meantime, I suggest you all try to go back to your daily routine to keep yourselves occupied," Zordon said. "You will be notified of what we discover as soon as we discover it."

"Come on," Tanya said, urging Adam to loosen up. "Let's get to school, all right?"

Adam said nothing. He looked down, closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

God only knew what miserable and horrific things they were doing to Rocky in the meantime…


	13. Poor Hospitality

**Author's Notes: Chapter thirteen, in which I am terribly cruel to Rocky...really, I love him. Don't think otherwise! He just needs a little tough love. :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"You're sick! You're sick and twisted! Let me go!"<p>

Rocky struggled as the Cogs shoved him into a holding cell. It reeked of rusted metal, leaving a sour taste in his mouth and nose every time he took a breath. He hit the ground with his palms out to protect himself. He cursed beneath his breath as pain shot up his arms from the impact. Nothing in this cell was forgiving; it was all cold, lifeless and robotic, just like the entire empire itself.

He barely had a chance to turn over onto his back and sit up when he saw Queen Machina approach. She peered at him through the thick bars with her soulless eyes. Rocky shivered. He never realized how terrifying she could be, especially in comparison to the rest of her ilk.

"Your little friend must be completely crushed that he couldn't save you," she said, clearly reveling in her deed. "That look in his eyes…that _passion_. You humans are very interesting beings. Like now,"—she pointed with her fan at Rocky's hands—"you're bleeding! How delightful!"

Rocky glanced at his palms. Sure enough, something had cut into his skin. Small rivulets of blood trickled down each of his hands. He pressed them against his jeans, hoping it would stop quickly.

"Why am I even here?" he spat out. "What good is it going to do you to have me?"

"As if I would share my plans with you."

Machina laughed. Rocky cringed. She sounded so happy, so carefree. It made him wonder if he even had a chance of escaping on his own. Where were his Zeonizers?

"Looking for these?" Machina asked. As if she'd read his mind she lifted up both Zeonizer bracers.

He gave her a terrified look. "How did you get those?"

"You honestly can't remember? No wonder it was so simple." Machina shook her head. "Never mind how I got them, ranger. All that matters is that I have them!"

Rocky launched himself up from the ground, nearly throwing himself at the bars as he tried to reach through and grab hold of his Zeonizers. Machina stepped back just in time, tittering with delight.

"I'm afraid you're trapped, puny brat. As for your friends finding you…well, let's just say, they're going to have their hands awfully full!"

Fueled with anger and frustration, Rocky threw himself against the bars again, trying to reach for something, _anything_ that would get him out of here. He could hear Machina's deep, robotic laugh taunting him in the background, but he couldn't give up—_wouldn't_ give up. He was going to get out somehow.

When it finally proved futile to try any further, he growled, pulling back. He thrust himself onto the rusted bench hanging precariously from the wall thanks to a pair of thick chains.

"I will leave you alone with your thoughts for a while, ranger!" Machina said, slowly backing out of the dark, cold room. "Where no one will hear you scream!"

Rocky knew that just below the surface of his anger was a film of panic. Without his Zeonizers and communicator, he was a sitting duck. There was no doubt that Machina and Mondo had gone to great lengths to ensure that his whereabouts remained safely locked away from prying eyes. Her comment about leaving him alone made him wonder if—or even when—she'd be back.

Exasperated, he said, "Fuck!" and stomped the ground with his good foot.

As Rocky sat there, stewing in his own frustration, several thoughts began to occur. What would his parents do about him missing? If the other rangers couldn't get him out by the end of the day, they were surely going to worry. His car had been left running in front of Adam's house, too. What if someone stole it? And what about his friends? How could they get in here safely? What would the Machine Empire do to them if they, too, were captured during their attempts to rescue him from their clutches?

The Blue Ranger let out a terse sigh.

All he could do was sit and wait.

. . . . .

By the end of school that day, Adam was brimming. He'd only managed to remain distracted from their situation during his history class, and that had been because of a presentation. Rocky had been his partner for the project, and so without him, he'd had to do the entire thing alone. He hoped that the excuse he had given for Rocky's absence had been enough to sufficiently sway their teacher, but who knew?

When the last class of the day let out, all of the rangers met up at Adam's locker. They contacted Zordon, but nothing had yet been found.

"Guys, what are we gonna do? His mom and dad are gonna wonder when he doesn't come home," Adam said worriedly.

"Can you convince them that he's staying at your house tonight?" Kat asked.

"On a school night? Not with my parents. I can try, but they'll wonder."

"There's really nothing else we can do," Tommy pointed out. "Unless we can get him back right away."

Just then, the beeper on their communicators went off. All of the other rangers surrounded him, listening in.

It was Alpha. "Ay-yi-yi-yi-yi! Rangers! Prince Sprocket and Klank are at Angel Grove Lake with a group of Cogs! You must get there immediately!"

"So much for figuring out what we're gonna do about Rocky's absence," Tanya muttered. "No doubt Mondo and Machina are going to try and keep us busy, too, so we can't focus on Rocky!"

"Like hell we won't," Adam said. He looked to Tommy. "Let's try and gang up on Sprocket, see if we can't figure out what his parents are trying to do."

"It's a plan," Tommy said. "Come on, guys, let's go."

Adam, Kat, Tanya and Tommy all disappeared into an empty classroom. There they morphed and teleported themselves to the coastline of Angel Grove Lake. Sure enough, Prince Sprocket and Klank, along with a group of Cogs, were investigating something along the water.

"Sprocket!" Adam called out. He pointed across the short distance between them, "What are you doing here? And where are your parents?"

The little robot hopped in surprise, his juvenile voice giving a cackle. "Oh, rangers! What a pleasant surprise! And there's only four of you, wonder how that came to be!"

"We know you took our friend!" Kat said. "We're going to get him back!"

"Good luck! Hope you can find the time when I've just left you a present to deal with! Bye bye, mangy rangers!"

Adam burst away from his group in a sprint. Each called out to him, but he couldn't stop himself. He rushed through the Cogs and jumped, reaching out to grab hold of Sprocket or Klank, either of them, in hopes of teleporting back with them to the palace. But he came up short, and he landed in the sand with a painful thud.

"Damn it!"

"Adam, watch out!"

Tommy's warning helped Adam to roll over just in time; he took a blow from a Cog's fist in his side instead of directly upon his back. Though it still hurt, it didn't stun him. He was up and in the air not but a second later, knocking the Cog back with a well-aimed fist to its chest. He kicked two more away from himself and dashed back to regroup with his friends.

"I almost had him!" he growled.

"Don't do that, Adam!" Tanya chided. She smacked his arm. "You could have actually gone back with them, and you would have been in just as much trouble! Don't risk your life!"

Though he understood her concern, Adam felt his cheeks heat up with disapproval. He was going to do whatever it took to save Rocky—no matter what.

"Guys, look, in the water!"

Kat pointed frantically as the water close to the shore began to bubble. It happened slowly at first, but soon it picked up speed, bubbling faster and wider until a spout of water shot directly into the air. The four rangers watched in surprise as a monster appeared. It was the same size and build as a human from the neck down, but its head was shaped like a large mechanical piranha. Its frightening teeth chomped several times; the sound of metal scraping against metal made Adam's ears hurt.

Its large, ruby red eyes glimmered in the faint winter sunlight. It hopped onto the shore and cackled.

"Nummy nummy rangers! What tasty snacks for Piranhazoid!"

Adam groaned. "Oh, great, now we have something that wants to eat us!"

_Can we just get this over with?_ He thought to himself, wishing he hadn't been so brash in chasing down Sprocket.

Tommy said, "Everyone, prepare your Zeo Pistols!"

Adam and the other rangers pulled their laser pistols out of their holders and aimed, ready to fire. On Tommy's command they fired together, sending several powerful blasts at the monster. It knocked it back but didn't seem to do much good. On top of that, the Cogs remained, and like a robotic wave they came at the rangers.

Adam flipped out of the way of the Cogs that came at him. He wasted no time in weaving in and out of them, blasting them in the back with his pistol and kicking them to the ground with his booted feet. He put every bit of frustration and anger into his attacks, and in just a few moments' time, had done away with a number of Cogs. He was about to start helping Kat fight when Piranhazoid came right at him, metal teeth chomping. He managed to duck out of the way just in time—and his dive caused the monster to trip over him and land face first in the sand.

"Oof!"

When he scrambled to his feet Adam leaped over a picnic table and toward Tanya and Kat. Piranhazoid got up moments after, and the rangers watched in horror as he set his teeth chomping and ate right through the thick wooden boards and metal rods of the picnic table. With the destroyed table in its wake, Piranhazoid continued toward the rangers.

"Nummy nummy nummy! Feed me more, rangers!"

"We can't get close enough without putting ourselves in danger!" Tanya exclaimed. "And our pistols did nothing!"

The only option they really had was to utilize their newest tool, the Zeo Cannon. They hadn't had but one chance to use it, and that had been with Billy, not Rocky. Without the Blue Ranger's powers assisting them, the cannon would be useless.

_Useless! Like everything else in this stupid battle!_

Adam gritted his teeth and aimed his laser pistol once more at Piranhazoid. Intuition told him to wait until its mouth was open, and he went with it. The timing had to be just perfect. Once the monster was close enough to him Adam took aim, waited, and then fired. The shot landed just in the back of Piranhazoid's throat, and a sudden burst of sparks shot forward from him as he stumbled and fell to the ground.

"His teeth are a shield!" Adam cried out. "If you shoot at just the right moment, you can incapacitate him!"

The other three rangers, having now disposed of the other Cogs, soon joined Adam and stood beside him. Piranhazoid struggled to rise to its feet. During this time Tommy, Kat and Tanya all raised their pistols in unison with Adam.

"On my call," he said. "Three…two…one…shoot!"

Piranhazoid stood up and prepared to launch another attack. At Adam's behest, they all shot their laser pistols in unison. The sheer force of the four laser beams shocked Piranhazoid's system, sending the monster flying back toward the shore. Sparks flew and electricity crackled. The monster was breaking down.

"We overloaded its circuits!" Kat said happily. "Great idea, Adam!"

Tommy clasped his hand over Adam's suited shoulder. "Yeah, great job, buddy!"

Piranhazoid groaned and rolled around on the sand for a few moments before the eventual sparks and crackling led to an all-out explosion. The rangers jumped back in surprise, watching as the metal pieces that made up the monster suddenly rained down upon them. It was the first time Adam could remember where a blast had actually completely destroyed the monster without them having to worry about Orbus super-sizing them.

In fact, it was very surprising that the monster had been destroyed so quickly. Adam couldn't help but feel suspicious.

"That almost seemed too easy," he said warily.

"Let's just enjoy the fact that we did it," Tanya said. "Without Rocky, we're very limited in what we can do…but at least we know we have the power!"

"I guess…"

"Look at it this way," Tommy began. "If Mondo thinks taking our friend is going to make us any weaker, he's got another thing coming. It's only gonna make us that much more focused, that much readier to destroy him!"

Tommy made a good point. Adam nodded, then looked over the lake.

"Let's go back to the Power Chamber. Hopefully Zordon or Alpha has some good news for us."

He hoped that, wherever Rocky was, he knew they were doing everything they could to find him.


	14. Dreamland

**Author's Notes: Thank God! I can breathe again! Life has calmed down and I am finally able to get the update for this story. Just a few chapters left, and then the third piece of the trilogy will follow along. Whoo :)**

**Saejima Kouga: Thank you! I'm glad you took the time to read through :) I'm not big on the smutty ness unless it's a scene I feel would fit in some way. PWP has its place, just not here for now. Hehe. Happy holidays to you!**

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><p>"Here, Power Ranger. Eat this."<p>

Rocky watched as a Cog slid a plate underneath the bars of his holding cell. Whatever was on it, it wasn't what he'd consider _food_ by any means. It was some kind of…grey slop, almost like mushed snow. The sight of it was disgusting, but his stomach growled. He had been trapped for who knew how long—hours, days, maybe even a week—and had only been fed once or twice the entire time.

He hated that his immediate reaction was to be _grateful_. Grateful should have been the last word he'd ever use to describe an interaction with a Cog. What upset him more was that the Cog was the only other thing he had seen since…well, however long ago it was that Machina had come to him, teasing him with his Zeonizers. He felt anger bubble up inside of him, but hunger quickly overran it.

Carefully, Rocky picked up the plate, watching it shake slightly in his hands. He'd been in Health and Anatomy class long enough to know that his blood sugar was low, causing him to tremble. And that by no means was a good thing.

"God, what is this?" he asked out loud, looking at the goop.

Rocky dipped the tip of his pinky finger into it, dabbing it onto his tongue. He couldn't really get a flavor profile from it, but all that mattered was that he could eat it. He knew that while he might not like it, he might possibly not see anything for quite some time. So, with a heavy heart and an empty stomach, he began using his finger to scoop clumps of the goo into his mouth. It left a strange, sticky sensation behind, which made Rocky feel grimy and gross. Then again, having not showered for a while, he was becoming uncomfortably familiar with that feeling.

"Oh, I take it the food is quite delicious, Blue Ranger!"

That voice. Rocky couldn't help it—his surprise coupled with his trembling hands caused the plate to slip and fall onto the floor. He'd only finished about half of the stuff on the plate, and he watched with horror as the rest of it spilled over the dirty, sticky metallic surface below.

When he looked up he saw King Mondo with two Cog attendants. He recoiled, lifting himself up and back toward the wall. "What do you want, Mondo?"

"Why, to see my prisoner, of course. Why else would I be here?"

"Well, you can turn right the hell around and go back. I'm not here for your amusement."

"Oh, but my dear boy, you are! You haven't the slightest idea just how much you are. Cogs!"

King Mondo stepped back. Rocky watched curiously as one of the Cogs opened the cell door. When both stepped in, he tried fighting them off, but the exhaustion from little sleep and poor quality food left him with enough energy to let out one outburst—and all it managed to do was knock the Cogs back a few steps. They came right after him again, each one gripping his arm like a vice.

"Let me go, you damn bastards! Let me go!"

Rocky struggled within their grasp, trying to lift his legs up so he could kick them. The Cogs remained safely out of the way, much to his frustration, and he continued to fight, up until he tired himself out. It upset him how quickly that point of exhaustion came.

Though Mondo's face could not express the same emotions as a human's, Rocky could have sworn he was gleeful.

"Come with me, ranger. I have a special present to show you that I think will leave a _lasting_ impression upon you."

"Let me go!"

Rocky continued to fight the Cogs with every fiber of his being, but it was no good. They had a firm grip on him and weren't letting go any time soon. They all but dragged him down a long, dimly lit corridor, through which Rocky could hear the sounds of gears turning, steam blowing and metal clanking. He couldn't really see where they were going, but eventually they entered a small, square room with a red glow that came from lights above the entryway.

The Cogs thrust him into a metal chair situated in the corner near a large, boxy machine. Immediately he thought it might be some kind of hypnosis or brainwashing tool. He strained against their hold on him, only to have the Cogs strap down his arm and ankles. One of the Cogs smacked his recovering ankle for good measure, making Rocky twist and writhe in the chair.

"Get away from me!" he growled through gritted teeth. "What is this, Mondo? What are you trying to pull here?"

"Oh, relax, ranger, you're going to make yourself faint from all the theatrics."

Mondo went over to the machine beside Rocky and began fidgeting with it. Rocky didn't see it before, but attached to it were a few cords that led to a bowl helmet. He didn't need to be told twice to know that whatever Mondo had in mind, it involved him and that helmet. Panic began to spread through Rocky like wildfire. How was he supposed to fight this when he felt exhausted, and even worse, didn't have his powers?

"This wonderful device is going to remind you just how powerful the Machine Empire is, my lovely boy," Mondo said, somewhat distractedly. He continued to press a few buttons until the machine gave a series of beeps. "Ah, finally. It's prepared. You see, ranger, there is something that you humans experience that we androids do not. Do you know what that is?"

"Compassion?" Rocky spat out. "Love? Kindness? _Decency_?"

Mondo laughed. "Oh, what a mouth you have on you, boy. No, by no means. The answer I was looking for was _fear_."

"That's a load of shit," Rocky replied. He couldn't be bothered that expletives were leaving him so freely. Mondo deserved no less.

"Ah, but it isn't. We do not know the emotion at all, thankfully. But the glory of the matter is, you humans do! And this machine will happily allow me to inflict you with a healthy dose of it."

Rocky blinked. "What do you mean?"

The king of the Machine Empire chuckled deviously. "Oh, you shall see. Say goodbye to the world as you know it, Blue Ranger, for what you'll see next is going to turn it upside down."

. . . . .

Adam stared all around him. The slightest provocation, the slightest movement—he could make too much noise and draw attention to himself. As he walked through the dark, metallic corridor, he felt his heart pounding in his chest. He heard every little sound, right down to the gentle crunch that came from his boot touching the floor.

He wasn't entirely sure how he'd gotten here successfully. He couldn't remember Billy, Alpha or Zordon informing him of the force field being taken down, nor could he recall teleporting here. However, what mattered was that he had arrived. He was in the palace and ready to save Rocky from certain doom.

He started at the sound of mechanical whizzing somewhere nearby. Carefully he slipped in between two thin metal columns—he barely fit. He kept completely silent, watching a pair of Cogs walk by him none the wiser. Apparently in this lighting, the vibrant green of his suit wasn't as colorful as he thought it would be. He was going to take it as a sign of good luck. If the Cogs couldn't see him, then he had a stronger chance of getting out of here safely with Rocky.

Once he heard them disappear down the hall, Adam slipped out from between the columns and continued again along the path. Although he really had no idea where he was going, he let his intuition guide him. It had seemingly done a good job so far, being strong enough to lead him to his current location. At the fork in the road ahead of him, it told him to turn left, and so he did. The further down the hall he got, the more he began to notice the reddish hue that permeated it.

Eventually Adam reached a small room stained with red light. It reminded him of a photo lab. It took his eyes a few moments to adjust, but when they did, they fell upon a sight for sore eyes.

"Rocky!"

Adam tried his best to keep his declaration hushed, but it was hard—oh, was it hard; especially when he started to take in the full sight of him, complete with bruised, swollen eyes and welts all over his body. Horrified, the Green Ranger ran toward his boyfriend, not realizing how convenient it was that he'd been able to so easily stumble upon Rocky.

"God, Rocky, what did they—"

His words were cut off by a maniacal pair of laughing voices. Adam turned his head quickly to see both King Mondo and Queen Machina. Fueled by anger, he retrieved his Zeo Pistol and pointed it at them. It seemed like such a miniscule weapon in the face of such great evil, but it was all he could do.

"Did you really think we would make it quite so simple for you to just waltz in and take away our prisoner?" Machina asked, her voice rising with amusement.

Mondo chuckled. "You're braver than we thought, Green Ranger! Or simply foolish!"

"I'm taking him back with me," Adam said with a snarl. "He's not your prisoner, he's my _friend_."

"Oh, we know he means much more to you than that, ranger. Who are you trying to fool?" Machina shook her head. "Cogs!"

Adam watched with rising panic as at least a dozen Cogs hustled in behind Machina and Mondo. They circled their leaders, their robotic expressions sending chills down his spine. One or two he could handle easily; three or four with some work; five or six if he pushed himself—but this many? He was a goner.

"Catch ya on the flip side!" he said with a triumphant voice, gripping hold of Rocky and pressing the teleportation button on his wrist.

But he went nowhere. Adam found himself still staring at the dangerous group of machines in front of him.

What was this? Why couldn't he teleport?

_Okay_, he told himself. Now _you can begin to really panic._

"What's going on?" he asked hurriedly.

"Silly ranger, you're not going anywhere!" Mondo pointed his staff at him. "Cogs, attack! We take yet another ranger prisoner today!"

"No!"

Adam fired his pistol several times, zapping several Cogs right in the chest. However, despite this, none of them even stumbled. It only seemed to irritate them, causing one to not only snatch his weapon from his hand, but also snap it in half with little effort. He felt several grabby hands tearing him away from Rocky. He yelled in frustration, trying to knock them back with his fists and booted feet.

"No, Rocky!"

Nothing seemed to work. Adam couldn't tear his stare away from the beaten and bloodied body of his partner in crime, his best friend—his _lover_. He reached out for him, hoping beyond hope that maybe he might just be able to cling on for a moment longer.

"ROCKY!"

Adam used every ounce of his strength to fight off the Cogs. He tore through one, then another, managing to break free for just long enough to dive for the chair in which Rocky sat. It was futile—the Cogs soon had hold of him again and were bringing him back into their greasy, mechanical embrace. Adam knew he was screaming, cursing, letting out more rage than he ever had before. And as the scene around him grew darker and darker, a tight, crushing pain enveloped his heart, jolting him awake.

He shot up in his bed with a terrified gasp.

It took him a few moments to center himself. Adam managed to calm down his panting. His heart was racing still, but no longer did it feel as if it would burst out of his chest.

"Jesus," he said to himself.

They needed to get Rocky back.

They needed to get him back _now_.

Adam climbed out of bed, running his fingers through his tousled hair. It knitted and dragged against his fingers, letting him know he'd tossed and turned all night. Not that it mattered anyway; he'd been in such a state since Rocky's disappearance four days ago.

After showering and getting ready for the day, Adam gathered up his book bag and headed through the house to the kitchen for breakfast. Everything inside seemed so blissfully normal, so uneventful, that it almost seemed to resonate everything he was going through at a much higher level.

His mother and father were sitting in the adjoining dining room drinking coffee, his mother with her fruit and his dad, his toast. With only a noncommittal, "Morning" in greeting to the both of them, he prepared a bowl of Raisin Bran, took it to the table and joined them in their silent seating. He got three or four bites into his cereal when he saw his dad lower his newspaper and say:

"Why the long face?"

"Nothing," Adam replied automatically. Immediately he felt guilty, knowing that he shouldn't have spoken so brusquely. "Sorry, just…a lot on my plate."

"I was wondering why you've been acting so differently. Anything you need to talk about?"

"We're always here for you, Adam," his mother said, looking at him over the rim of her thin glasses. "You can always talk to us."

Something about the kindness of their words made Adam sick—not so much because of the innate fear he felt of sharing things with them nowadays, but because of the simple fact that he _couldn't_. Telling them about what he couldn't stop worrying about would not only reveal that his identity as a Power Ranger, but also that Rocky meant much more to him than just a friend. The more he thought about it, the tighter he gripped his spoon. Rocky's bloodied face suddenly entered his mind.

"It's nothing," he said again, with more force, this time as an attempt to convince himself. "I just have a busy couple of weeks coming up and I'm a little worried about school, that's all."

_Never mind that Rocky's been missing for four days, having God only knows what done to him, and here I am, talking about school. _School!

"You've never had trouble in school," his father said. "You'll do just fine, son."

"Thanks, Dad."

It was like pulling teeth to get those words out of him, due to the sole fact that he was beginning to feel his façade cracking. Adam prided himself on being composed, calm, well put-together. But how was he supposed to feel that way when he was slowly ripping apart at the seams?

"You know, if you _ever_ need any help, you can always talk to your cousin, Kyung. He's always been one of the best academics our family has seen in ages!"

His mother's words were like salt on an open wound after what he'd heard from her at the Christmas party. Adam tried to smile, but he felt his mood morph it into something dry and distant.

"Thanks, Mom."

_Yes,_ he thought irritably, _just let me know a little bit more how much you disapprove of my decision. Just twist my arm a little more._

Adam said nothing further at the table that morning. He couldn't even bear to finish eating his cereal; the bile within his stomach had overtaken his appetite and left him feeling sick. He gave them little more than a good-bye when he left for school that day, fully prepared to walk.

He needed to burn off some energy—and fast.


	15. Dreamland Part Deux

**Author's Notes: Chapter fifteen, tada! Sorry it took so long-vacation successfully managed to distract me for a whole week, and it was glorious. :)**

**Saejima Kouga: Hahaha, I always thought that they should fester a little longer in those dangerous situations. It's no wonder they never did any lasting damage to the team, they only dealt with the danger for a brief day or so!**

**LilDevyl: You may have to make that phone call...*cough* Just saying! **

**Enjoy, everybody!**

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><p>Rocky couldn't believe how much this monster could take. Here they stood, in the Zeo Megazord, complete with the Power Saber at the ready, and it <em>still<em> refused to fall.

"This thing is just taking everything we throw at it and turning it right back around!" he said in exasperation. "How are we supposed to defeat it?"

"I don't know, but all we can do is hope that we can take it down," Tommy replied.

Rocky could hear the edge in his leader's voice. Tommy didn't waver often, and when he did, it gave them all a reason to worry. He tried to keep himself under control, manning his station with a calm, cool, collected head.

"Watch out, rangers, I'm coming for you!"

For some reason or another, the image of the actually monster was fuzzy, almost out of focus. Try though he might, Rocky couldn't bring his eyes to stay on it for more than a moment—as if it reflected his gaze. It was no matter, he thought—he only needed to watch over his station to keep the Megazord functioning properly.

"On my command," Tommy said, "We strike again. One…two…"

Before Tommy could reach three, the Zeo Megazord shook violently. Rocky didn't need to see what was going on to know that the monster had them in its grasp. He rocked back and forth in his seat until a sudden powerful jolt sent him, as well as his fellow rangers, flying right out of the cockpit.

That familiar sensation that came from a sudden, sharp fall filled Rocky's stomach, sucking all of the air out of him. He yelled the entire way down, managing at the last moment to throw his body into a roll. It hurt like hell but he felt little shock compared to what he would have felt landing directly on his feet.

He lay there on the ground for a moment, trying to gather his bearings. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a partial silhouette of the monster tearing into the Zeo Megazord. The loud cracks and sparks of electricity filled Rocky's ears, bringing back the horrific memory of when their Thunderzords were destroyed by Rito Revolto.

Rocky groaned weakly and lifted himself to his feet. Around him he saw Tommy, Kat and Tanya, but no Adam. He felt a familiar jolt of worry. He couldn't have landed far, not if the four of them remained so close together.

"Adam?" he called out, while his companions lifted themselves to their feet.

Then came the one sound that stopped Rocky cold: Tanya crying out Adam's name.

Rocky turned, and in less than a second found himself weak in the knees. There, maybe some ten yards away, lay Adam, with what looked like piping piercing through his abdomen.

"Adam!"

Rocky dashed over to his lover—his _best friend—_and knelt down beside him. He removed his helmet, finding it impossible to breathe behind its smothering façade. Undeniable, crippling fear engulfed him, but he would be damned if he showed it. Not while Adam, whose helmet he had just removed to help him breathe, somehow remained stone-faced, despite being impaled by what Rocky now identified as scrap metal.

Adam coughed, spurting out blood from his mouth. He wore a grimace. God, how was he handling this?

"F-Funny how it happens," he grunted, an unintentional yelp of pain escaping him afterward.

Rocky reached for his gloved hand, holding it tightly within his own. Suddenly it was just the two of them—like the whole world around him blacked out. He no longer heard the deafening roar of the monster, or the crackling electricity from the megazord. He couldn't even hear his friends, who not but a minute ago had been just behind him.

"Adam, stay strong," Rocky said, his throat swelling and constricting his airways. He swallowed roughly.

His voice was pleading. "Come on, keep hold of me, I'll get you to the Power Chamber and we'll fix this."

"C-Can't be fixed," Adam said, voice strained. His face contorted into a look of indescribable pain. "I'm…Rocky, it's…over."

"No, no," Rocky said, quiet at first. "No! It's not over, it's not! We're gonna fix this!" By now he realized that he was begging, worse than before. He didn't care. It didn't matter right now. _Adam_ mattered. Getting him safe was the most important thing.

"It's okay, Rock. I—_ah_—" Adam winced, biting onto his lower lip. His grip on Rocky's hand slowly began to loosen. "It's been…worth it all. I love you."

Rocky could no longer hold off the warm tears that threatened to fall down his cheeks. As they trickled from his eyes, he lifted Adam's gloved hand to his, giving it a kiss.

He was watching the very life of the man he loved escape him with each passing second. He hated that there was nothing he could do about it—not when Adam had given up like this. He wanted him to stay strong, wanted him to fight it, but he'd never been able to convince Adam of anything once he made up his mind. It was one of the things he both loved and hated about him.

"I love you, too," Rocky said, brushing his fingers through Adam's hair with his other hand. His forehead was beaded with sweat, and the color had already begun to leave his face. Rocky leaned in and pressed his lips against the other's brow. His chest ached, his heart _burned, _but he was determined to hold that kiss as long as he could.

"Rocky Miguel Echevarria DeSantos!"

Rocky stiffened immediately at the voice. That couldn't be—

"_What_ are you doing?"

No…

Rocky pulled back from Adam, looking over his shoulder. With a look of horror he realized that his entire family was standing there, staring at him.

His panic level rose significantly. "What are you doing here?" he barked. The tears had made his voice hoarse. "It's not safe! Get out! Go home!"

"When were you going to tell us you were a Power Ranger? That you were threatening your life every day?"

Maria's voice carried the tone of _angry mother_, complete with an accent that only came forward when she grew incredibly upset. His attention, however, was dragged immediately back to Adam, who squeezed his hand weakly.

"Good-bye, Rock…"

"N-No! No, not good-bye!"

Rocky looked at his boyfriend, his _other half_, and watched him fade away. All that was left behind was the husk, Adam's physical being, which by now had begun to stop bleeding. Rocky looked down at his feet and saw the pool of scarlet red. It stained his boots, but he didn't care.

The Blue Ranger finally allowed the oppressive weight on his shoulders to crush him. He broke down, fingers clinging to the fabric of Adam's demorphed plaid shirt. With his face buried in the crook of the other's neck he sobbed, body trembling and eyes clenched shut.

He was gone…

. . . . .

"Why won't this wretched Zeo Crystal work in my favor? Agh!"

King Mondo nearly crushed the object in his hands, staring down at it with disdain. This was his third failed attempt at extracting the power from within. He knew that the Zeo Crystal had the ability to energize and charge his monsters with super power, but that all involved _getting_ _it out_ of the Zeonizer in the first place.

"We're machines, this is a machine. Why is it proving so difficult?"

"Maybe it's just too good for us to open, Dad!" Sprocket suggested. "You said it yourself: evil can't touch the crystal! It's defending itself against you!"

"But it should be weakened!" Mondo shouted. "Weakened! It's split into five pieces now. Each harnesses less power than before. How can it be so simple, and yet so monstrously difficult at the same time?"

He threw the device against the wall in frustration. It clanked and clattered on the way to the floor, where it landed roughly. However, it seemed to affect it very little, which only served to irritate Mondo further.

"Give these to your mother," he said, handing both wristlets to Sprocket once he picked them up. The one without the Zeo Crystal had proven ineffective, as well, which only made him more frustrated. "See if she can figure something out with them. I've given up for the time being. I'm going to check on the Blue Ranger."

Sprocket hopped in place. "Well, sure, Dad. Can I join you?"

"Yes, yes, might as well, boy. You can give them to her later. Won't do us much good right now…"

Perhaps Klank had an answer, Mondo mused. Or Orbus.

He resolved to ask them later. For now, he had plans with his hostage.

. . . . .

"You didn't have to walk me home, you know."

"Of course I didn't. But I wanted to. You've been way too distant these past few days…we need to stick together and keep each other focused if we're going to get Rocky back."

Adam smiled in Tanya's direction, albeit a little sadly. He'd been so preoccupied by his dream all day. Something told him that it hadn't been entirely made up. Though he was by no means a clairvoyant, he couldn't help feeling that what he'd seen was not a far cry from the truth. He knew that Mondo and Machina were doing things to Rocky; he just didn't know _what_.

Tanya reached out and linked her arm through Adam's. The physical closeness made him long for Rocky's touch. Still, there was comfort in Tanya's. That she knew he needed it without him saying anything spoke volumes to him about their friendship. Aisha would have done the same thing.

"I really admire your dedication," she told him. "You know, you could very easily go after Mondo yourself, but you're keeping a level head."

"Thanks. I'm trying, but it's hard. Listen," Adam paused, looking at Tanya. "Can I tell you something?"

"Anything, Adam, what's going on?"

He pursed his lips. How could he tell her what he saw without feeling like a complete and utter liar? He'd been far from level-headed in his dream, and it had left him in a very shaken state all day long.

"I had a dream about Rocky last night," he began. "I was…there, on the moon, looking for him."

"And?"

"I found him in this room. And you might think I'm crazy, but I feel like what I saw isn't entirely made up, you know? Something about it felt very real."

Suddenly it was not only hard to voice how he felt, but also what he'd seen. Recalling Rocky's beaten face and distant, empty eyes was enough to make his stomach twist in knots. Adam swallowed, looking forward.

"He was attached to this machine in the dream. I don't know what it was doing, but it wasn't good. He looked like they'd beaten him up and left him there."

Tanya gave a considering sound. "What makes you think it was real?"

"Just a feeling," Adam replied. "I can't…really explain it."

"It's okay, I was just wondering if there was something that made it seem extra real. So you said he was attacked to a machine?"

"Yeah, and I never got a chance to figure out what its purpose was, because Mondo and Machina showed up. I got overwhelmed by Cogs in the dream and that was when I woke up."

They rounded the corner of his block. Adam slowed down as the images in his head became more and more vivid. The sheer feeling of being overwhelmed by them didn't help the knots in his stomach.

"I'm worried," he finally admitted. Everybody probably already expected him to feel that way, but Adam hated saying it aloud. To him, it served as an upsetting reminder that something was able to get under his skin. Verbalizing his concern, in his mind, was akin to admitting defeat.

Tanya squeezed his arm. He looked at her, and the expression of concern in her eyes made him turn his gaze away. Adam didn't want pity. He wanted Rocky back, and he wanted it to happen _now_.

"Look," Tanya said, "It's the weekend. We can all go to the Power Chamber and work until we're blue in the face." Her voice remained strong, firm. "We'll find him. I promise you."

"I know we will," Adam agreed. "For his sake, I just hope it's sooner rather than later…"

. . . . .

Later that night after dinner, Adam told his parents a fib that he had a headache and that he would be going to bed early. In reality, the moment he locked the door to his part of the house, he teleported to the Power Chamber. To his surprise, Tommy was already there, working alongside Alpha and Zordon.

"Tommy," he said, blinking.

"Hey, buddy. I just got here."

"What are you doing here?"

"We're gonna get Rocky back, aren't we? I can't explain it; I feel like tonight's the night it's going to happen." Tommy gave Adam a smile.

That kind of positive focus was exactly what Adam needed. With a small smile of his own, he went over to where his friend was, glancing over the display screen at his fingertips. By now Adam had come to understand that the screen had the ability to detect fluctuations in the power grid and force field surrounding the Machine Empire's palace. The screen remained solid green, though an occasional blip appeared where their sonar attempted to pierce the blockade.

"I've been watching for a little while," Tommy explained. "Nothing big happening, but Billy had an idea."

"What's that?" he asked.

"Billy, did you want to explain?"

"Certainly!"

Billy came over from his station, clasping his hands together as he was apt to do when explaining. "I've been studying the frequency that the Quadrafighters use when they land on the moon. I believe that I've managed to duplicate their signature. However, I haven't had a chance to try it out yet."

Finally, a glimmer of hope. Adam nodded, rubbing his hands together. "Well, when can we test it out?"

Billy shrugged his shoulders. "I believe we'll only get one chance. If it doesn't work, they'll surely know that we're trying to get in through their force field."

Nearby, the familiar colors of pink and yellow appeared. As the teleportation energy dissipated, in its place stood Kat and Tanya.

"Hey, guys," Kat said. "Sorry we're late. My parents cooked dinner a little later than usual…"

"It's cool," Adam said. "Billy was just telling us about a possible chance we've got for sneaking into their palace and getting Rocky back."

"See? I told you we'd make it work," Tanya said, moving up alongside Adam and clasping her hand on his shoulder.

"We only get one shot," Billy said again, this time to Kat and Tanya. "So we have to be sure that it's going to work."

"Wait, if we can break through the force field, can't Alpha simply teleport Rocky out of there?" Kat asked curiously.

"There are multiple levels of protection within the palace," Alpha explained. He tapped away on several buttons connected to the station near which the rangers stood. "Billy and I detected two completely separate shield signatures, which means that it is very likely Rocky is blocked by both."

"Our best bet is to teleport in through the first if we can manage to break through it, and then go from there," Billy said.

"Sounds dangerous," Adam said. He had a flashback of his dream, and he shivered. "Will we be able to teleport out when we find him?"

"We'll be able to remain locked onto your signal from the very beginning. This will give us a better chance of teleporting you out once you find him." Billy stroked his chin thoughtfully. "You may, however, have to move to a safe location until we're able to break through the other force field. If need be, that is."

When Adam began to speak again, he stopped suddenly—the viewing globe lit up the dimly lit chamber, catching everyone's attention. Inside it was an image of Rocky, looking worse for wear. Though he had no visible bruising or bleeding, his cheeks were gaunt and his eyes were dark. He spoke, but it was barely audible.

"Alpha, turn up the volume, or something!" Tanya said.

"Affirmative!"

Rocky's voice increased in volume until it could be heard clearly throughout the chamber.

"Help—please, I—"

The image disappeared, and the sound along with it. The few seconds that Adam was able to see Rocky was enough to reignite the flame within him. He smacked his hand against the command station.

"We have to get him!"

"Look!" Tommy pointed at the green screen.

Their blip, which had returned with little to no results prior, now was bringing up a full sonar display of the outside of the palace. The force field had been lowered.

"This isn't good, guys," Kat said. "Mondo had to have sent that, right?"

"You are correct, Kat," Zordon said. "It is my understanding that Mondo has lowered the force field in hopes of luring you all into his palace. Should you proceed, it must be with extreme caution. You will, as you say, be going into the maw of the beast."

"It's a chance we have to take," Tanya said firmly. "For Rocky's sake."

"Please remember, it is vital that we retrieve Rocky's Zeo Crystal, as well," Zordon stated. "Mondo has likely placed it in a hold away from Rocky so as to complicate things further. I have been receiving strange emissions from Zeo Crystal three, leading me to believe that Mondo must be trying to harness its power for himself."

"We split up," Adam said suddenly. He put his hands together. "Tommy, you and I will go find Rocky. Kat, Tanya, you two will go find his Zeonizers."

"Do you think that's a good idea?" Kat said in concern. "Splitting up?"

"It's the only option we have," Tommy offered. "Without Rocky, we aren't a solid team. Without his powers, he can't fight. Either way, we need both, and this offers us a quicker solution."

Adam could sense Kat's apprehension. Part of him wanted to tell her to just suck it up and deal, but he knew that wasn't right. She was voicing legitimate worry, which was precisely what they needed right now. Without it, they wouldn't know how to take the proper precaution.

Zordon wore a concerned expression upon his face. "Be careful, rangers. Mondo will undoubtedly be using every piece he has in his arsenal to keep you from retrieving Rocky. May the power protect you."

"You guys ready?" Tommy asked.

"Now or never," Tanya replied.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Kat said.

"Then let's get ready to go," Adam stated. He summoned forth his Zeonizers, prepared for battle.

"It's Morphin' Time!"


	16. Operation Rescue

**Author's Notes: Dun dun dun! The last chapter. I was hoping to build up dramatic effect by waiting to post this-or at least, that's what I'd like to believe, and not so much that work got the best of me this last week or so. At any rate, I wanted to take the time to thank you all for your interest in the story! If you made it this far, keep an eye out for the final piece of this trilogy that will be posted sometime this week. I just couldn't get enough of Rocky and Adam, so I had to continue their story.**

**Everyone, please enjoy! **

* * *

><p>"Stick close by, all right? We'll find him, together."<p>

Adam heeded Tommy's command. He knew they were in a hotbed of dangerous villain activity; there was no way he would go running off, even if he saw Rocky right there. At the very least, he told himself, he'd drag Tommy right alongside him.

They had teleported into the lower levels of the palace. All around them were strange sounds: whirring, cranking, hissing. From the looks of it, not a single organic thing was in sight. Coming from a planet full of them, Adam couldn't help but feel incredibly uncomfortable. Synthetics and robotics had always left a sour taste in his mouth. The Machine Empire was only serving to further that distaste.

"Since we don't have any lock in on where he is in here, we'll have to explore," Tommy explained.

He gestured for Adam to come along with him down a thin corridor that seemed to lead into a larger, warehouse-like scene. Once they slipped inside, the sight before them was terrifying. It was similar to a production plant, complete with assembly lines, moving conveyor belts and large vats of what smelled like oil and molten metal. Adam found it incredibly difficult to breathe. He supposed that made sense; why would machines need oxygen to function?

"We can't stay in here long," he told Tommy.

"I know, I can feel it, too. Come on, this way."

Adam followed after his friend, taking the long way around the room. They used the large crates of scrap metal as a means of hiding themselves. Cogs were everywhere, but thankfully kept to their own devices. Whatever they were making, Adam couldn't tell. New monsters? More Cogs? Quadrafighters? There was an endless list of possibilities, which made the empire seem that much more frightening. Rita and Zedd had been dubious and evil, but their method had never seemed so cold, so calculating—so _soulless_.

He shivered a little as they snuck into yet another corridor. He stopped immediately, however, when he realized that it held a strange sense of familiarity.

"Tommy, wait."

"What's up?"

He pulled his friend aside and hid them in the shadowy corner produced by a set of twin columns against the wall, upon which lights glimmered in strange patterns.

"I don't mean to sound strange, but…I recognize this place."

Tommy sounded confused. "Wait, how?"

"I—I had this dream last night, it was really intense. Anyway, it felt like more than just a dream. I think this may have been what it was foretelling."

Adam could only hope that it simply foretold the location and not the eventually scenario he'd seen the night before. Whatever the case turned out to be, however, the important thing was that they now had some kind of lead—some kind of way to tell where they were going.

"Well, let's cross our fingers and hope for the best, man, all right?" Tommy clasped Adam's shoulder. "We're gonna get him back. You lead the way."

"Right. Let's do this."

Adam peered out from the column. With the coast clear he gestured for Tommy to follow him. The corridor was longer than he could remember from his dream, but sure enough, as he came to the end of it, the path forked in two different directions. Which way had he gone? He worried his lip, looking from left to right.

"Which way?" Tommy whispered.

His heart told him left. Adam knew to trust his instincts. "We go left."

As they stepped carefully down the pathway, the reddish hue he recalled from his vision suddenly filled the space around them. It grew gradually brighter until he came across the very room he'd seen in his dream.

And there he was.

"Rocky!"

Adam had to stop himself from bolting forward and rushing to Rocky's side. Much like his dream, Rocky was connected to some kind of strange machine, something with multiple flashing lights and a very ominous feel to it. Aside from the metal chair upon which he sat and the large machine, there was nothing in the room.

"A-Adam?"

Rocky's voice sounded so weak, so delirious, that Adam found himself stepping forward without realizing it. He stopped only because Tommy gripped his arm firmly, helping to bring him back into focus.

"Hold on, man. It's too easy. Remember. We gotta be careful."

"Adam…"

Rocky gave a dry, weak, almost wheezing cough. He lifted his head and stared over at them, eyes bleary and gaunt. He looked far worse than he had in the viewing globe, which made Adam ball his fists in anger.

_How dare they do this to him, _he thought_. How dare they think they would get away with it. _

He turned his head to glance down the corridor; the coast was clear. From the looks of it, they were standing in the only entrance to and from the room, which made things a little easier.

"You watch the corridor, all right?" Adam ordered. "I'm gonna go help him."

Tommy nodded. "All right. Be careful."

Slowly at first, Adam walked deeper into the room. He could hear his heart thudding in his chest, reminding him of just how much was on the line. Being so deeply entrenched in enemy territory wasn't the smartest move, but without the ability to teleport Rocky out, what other option did they have?

"Adam…"

Rocky called out for him again, making his chest ache. The closer he got to his partner, he easier it was to see his discomfort and pain. He looked ill. Righteous indignation began bubbling up inside of the Asian boy, but he kept himself under control. He needed to be strong for Rocky.

"Hey, handsome, it's your prince charming, here to save you…"

He smiled, even though Rocky couldn't see it behind his helmet. With a gentle touch he let his fingers explore the shackles that kept the other trapped in the chair. From the discoloration around Rocky's wrists, Adam could tell that it wasn't very giving. He must have been stuck in this spot for a while.

"We're gonna get you out," Adam said reassuringly. "Just hang on, all right?"

Rocky nodded weakly, his eyes going in and out of focus. The sight of it enraged Adam to no end, but he tried to keep from showing it. He put all of that anger into trying to undo Rocky's binds. There didn't seem to be any way to get them open without the key, and since Adam didn't have that, he went with the next best thing. He pulled out his Zeo Pistol, situating himself at such an angle that any reflected blast would shoot toward the opposite side of the room and not at Rocky.

"Watch out," he warned just the same. "Three…two…one…"

A well-aimed blast undid one of the bindings. Beneath Adam could see Rocky's bruised joint, shining purple and blue. He did the same for the other, which finally released the other ranger from his bondage.

"Here, come on, let me help you up."

"Not so fast, ranger!"

Adam started at the sound of Mondo's voice. He looked around for him, but the fat machine was nowhere in sight.

Tommy turned his attention quickly toward the entryway. "Did you hear that?"

"You didn't think I was going to let you leave without a little bit of a challenge, did you?"

"I don't see him!" Adam said with a growl. He eased Rocky up and out of the chair, supporting the other's weight when he stumbled forward. "He could be anywhere!"

From far in the distance Adam could hear the sound of sirens blaring. His vantage point in the back of the room let him see further down the corridor. A large mass of bronze and silver was coming at them—Cogs. And lots of them.

"Alpha, can you read me?" Tommy asked. "Alpha, it's Tommy, we need you!"

A garbled, incomprehensible reply came through their communicators. Adam felt Rocky clinging to him, trying to keep himself steady, and the rage within him continued to grow.

Another jumbled response came through, however it was cut off by the sound of Tanya, triumphant and gleeful.

"Guys, we got Rocky's Zeonizers! Queen Machina was holding them but we got them! Do you have Rocky? We need to go, now!"

Tommy lifted his wrist to his helmet to speak. "Awesome! We've got Rocky, but Mondo has us under attack! Get out safely! We'll meet you at the Power Chamber!"

"Affirmative! Get out alive!"

Adam started to step closer to the center of the room. By the time he and Tommy regrouped, the Cogs had effectively blocked off the exit. There were at least a dozen, all standing in three organized rows. Behind them Adam could see a large, blue object—_Mondo_.

"Attack, my servants!" Mondo ordered.

"Keep Rocky safe, I'll fight them off until we get teleported out!"

Adam nodded, but he prepared his Zeo Pistol nonetheless. As Tommy danced around the floor, knocking Cogs over left and right, he made sure to zap them and keep them from getting up. By the time they'd incapacitated several, Mondo had arrived. The boiling blood inside Adam peaked at the sight of him.

"You're gonna die for this!" he shouted at Mondo. He nudged Rocky upward, trying to shift the other's weight; it was beginning to fatigue him.

"Correction: I do believe it will be you two rangers who fall in step with his fate! You can't escape!"

"Oh yeah? We'll just see about that."

Adam shot at Mondo, but the machine king's armor deflected it and sent it at an unsuspecting Cog, which collapsed on the ground in a sparking heap of metal.

"Alpha, Billy, please, if you can hear me, we need to be teleported out!" he said hurriedly into his communicator.

Rocky mumbled something incoherent—or maybe it made sense, Adam couldn't tell. His blood rushed into his ears, his cheeks, his chest. So focused was he on trying to defend Tommy and keep Rocky safe that he couldn't hear the response that came through his communicator. A Cog came close to him and tried to tear his partner away; Adam kicked it square in the chest, nearly sending himself backward from the force.

Just as he prepared to load his pistol once more, he heard Mondo say, "He's broken, ranger! Broken! See if he's worth anything ever again!"

Adam nearly yelled as he loaded up a powerful blast in his pistol. He fired it off, watching the intensely focused beam of light head right for Mondo's face. But just before it connected he found himself now staring at the large, mystical tube that stored Zordon's time-warped face.

Was this a trick?

He called out in surprise, looking around him.

No, it wasn't a trick. Tommy was there, and Kat, as well as Tanya. Standing beside the teleportation console was Alpha. Watching over as he always did was Zordon, a look of relief upon his face.

Had they really made it back safely?

Adam didn't have time to think about it. Before he knew it, Kat and Tanya were approaching him, easing Rocky off of him and guiding him toward the medical bay. They helped him onto the table, where he groaned and coughed. Stunned, Adam stood there, brain still trying to wrap around what had happened to them all.

Alpha gave a cheer of joy. "You did it! Oh, rangers, I knew you could!"

It had all happened so fast. Tommy came near and clasped Adam's shoulder. "Great job, man. You saved him!"

"I guess I did," Adam replied, removing his helmet and setting it atop the command station.

After taking a moment to gather himself, the Green Ranger stepped over toward Rocky. Alpha was already running a diagnostic on him, which came back with information that dampened his spirits some.

"He is dehydrated and malnourished," Alpha said. "I will make sure he gets what he needs here very shortly."

Despite his situation, Rocky smiled. Adam's heart warmed from the inside out at the sight of it. He reached for the other's hand, gripping it between his own two.

Rocky surprised him by saying, "Thank God you're alive."

"Of course I am, Rock. And you're safe. We've got you here in the Power Chamber. Alpha's gonna take care of you, and I'll be right here beside him."

Tanya, Kat, Billy and Tommy all wore relieved smiles. The team was whole again. Adam had proven Mondo wrong. He had saved Rocky.

For the first time in a week, he felt like he was going to get a good night's sleep.

"We're so glad you're okay, Rocky," Kat said with a smile on her face. She cupped the side of his face with her hand. "Just relax. You're in good hands again."

After a few moments, Kat, Tanya, Tommy and Billy pulled away to discuss Rocky's Zeonizers and to check into their status to make sure they were still functioning all right. When Adam attempted to pull away to join them, he found Rocky still holding on to his hand. He took that as an obvious sign to stay put.

"Take me home tonight, huh?" Rocky asked. "My parents are probably…freaking out…"

"I just told your mom you were staying at my house. She didn't push the issue, but it's been nearly a week…" He let it go there, just nodding afterward.

Rocky closed his eyes. Adam finally pulled away, and when he did, he watched as Alpha reenergized his partner with a few healing pulses from the medical bed. The color returned to Rocky's cheeks, the bruises faded from his wrists and the darkness around his eyes lightened considerably. The fact that their machine was able to do all that was a testament to Zordon and Alpha's abilities.

"He'll be just fine," Alpha said. "But he still needs a good night sleep."

"His Zeonizers seem to be in good condition," Billy commented. "Whatever Mondo was doing, it didn't seem to work too well for him."

"Here, give 'em to me. I'm taking him back home with me here in a few minutes."

"Are you sure you're okay to do it alone?" Tanya asked. "You look exhausted."

Adam didn't realize it, but with wave after wave of adrenaline hitting him, combined with the poor sleep, lack of focus and overall physical exhaustion, he looked about as worse for wear as Rocky did. However, teleporting Rocky home with him was going to take about as much energy as lifting his arm, which at the moment, he thankfully could still do.

"I'll be fine, guys," he told everyone, though he focused on Tanya. "Thanks for the concern, though."

"If you say so," Tanya replied.

Zordon said, "Congratulations, rangers, on a job very well done. Rocky is safe, his crystal is intact and Mondo has once again lost. Hopefully soon he will realize what a force he is up against."

Tommy let out a triumphant laugh. "He can't keep us down!"

Adam would worry about Mondo later. Right now, as he stared down at Rocky, the only one that mattered was the one staring right back at him.

He smiled.

. . . . .

"Oh…this bed…I could lie here for hours…"

Adam looked over at Rocky as he rolled around atop his bed. He couldn't blame him for finding it so comfortable. After being trapped in the cold and unyielding palace of the Machine Empire for as long as he was, any sort of creature comfort would be incredibly appealing to him.

After stripping down to a tank top and his boxer briefs, Adam wandered over to his bed, climbing on top of it. He was still smiling. It was hard not to, really—not when Rocky was right here with him.

"It's such a relief to see you here, you have no idea."

"You're tellin' me," Rocky replied. He rolled onto his back, closed his eyes and sighed. "Everything about that place was terrible, Adam. I wish there was some way to get rid of the memories in my head from it."

The Asian boy laid his hand atop Rocky's bare chest, tracing nonsensical shapes across his skin. From the looks of it, Rocky had been more or less untouched. That normally would have made him feel better, but something in the other's words made him wonder what _had_ happened.

"Wanna talk about it?" Adam asked lightly.

Rocky remained quiet for a while. Adam continued to draw on him, eventually laying his hand to rest right over his heart. He rested his head on the pillow not too far from Rocky's.

"They didn't feed me much…gave me maybe half a glass of water once or twice. They're robots, so of course they don't eat what I do. It was terrible."

Adam knitted his brow at the thought. His fingers curled instinctively over Rocky's heart. He continued to listen.

"Mondo hooked me up to some machine…made me see some terrible things."

Rocky opened his eyes finally, shifting onto his side so he could see Adam. The intensity of emotion in the brunette's moist eyes was surprising. Adam returned the stare, his hand still in place.

"You _died_ in one of them, Adam. I don't—it was…"

"Shh." Adam leaned in and caught Rocky's lips in a soft kiss. He didn't need to hear any more than that. "Don't think on that anymore. We're here. I'm fine."

"I know. It was just…bad. We were losing a battle, and my family found out I was a Power Ranger, and…" Rocky sighed. "I don't know what the machine could have done to me if I had been stuck with it for longer than I was."

"Not something we have to worry about now," Adam offered, with the faint hint of a smile tugging at his lips.

"No. But I realized something the other day. I never got to tell you."

Adam blinked. "What?"

The intensity in Rocky's eyes had yet to disappear. As he moved in closer, he kissed Adam passionately, cupping the back of his head with his hand. Upon pulling back, their gazes met, and Rocky said:

"I love you, Adam Park."

"Y-You—I—"

Adam let out a breathless sound. Rocky's words left him speechless. Something within him stirred, and warmth spread from his chest outward. The feeling was indescribable, but Adam knew exactly what it was. He gripped Rocky's chest somewhat tighter, moving in for another kiss. The electric spark that shot through him, coupled with the rush of blood to his head, made him smile.

"This is the part where you say it back," Rocky joked, his fingers fiddling with the strap of Adam's tank top.

"Rocky DeSantos," Adam said, deliberately slow, "I…love…"

"Uh-huh…?"

Adam paused. He watched his partner's face, eager with anticipation.

"You," he finished.

Rocky grinned wide, almost like he'd won an award. He kissed Adam again. "Yeah, that's what I thought." He pinched Adam's nipple suddenly.

"Ow!"

"And that's what you get for making me wait to hear it."

"Jeez, I save your life and you give me a purple nurple…how is that love?"

"Tough love, baby." Rocky smirked. "Better get used to it."

Adam laughed. "Do I have a choice?"

"Nope." Rocky smiled, and Adam's whole being warmed from the inside out. "You're stuck with me."

"Until the end?"

"Until the very end."


End file.
